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HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



The Hearthstone Series 



THE COURTSHIP OF 
MILES STANDISH 



BY 

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, WITH NOTES, AND 
TWENTY SPECIAL LESSONS 

BY 

WILLIAM A. CAMPBELL 

DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
NEW YORK CITY 



HINDS, HAYDEN & ELDREDGE, Inc. 
New York Philadelphia Chicago 



\C\\A 






Copyright, 1917, by Hinds, Hayden & Eldredge, Inc. 



APR 16 1317 



'C1,A457976 

'Ho ^ 



PREFACE 

Simplicity, clarity, brevity — these have been the editor's 
watchwords in preparing the Hearthstone Series. This Se- 
ries is to comprise works, suitably edited and annotated, 
adapted for three different groups of students: the pupils 
in high schools who study critically certain of the English 
classics; the advanced classes in grammar schools whose 
work is not so exacting; and the younger grammar school 
pupils for whom should be provided certain classical writ- 
ings, for appreciative reading. 

The information contained in each Introduction will, the 
editor hopes, assure to the student a more efficient and in- 
telligent study of the book. Though the footnotes are some- 
what technical in their application, the endeavor has been 
to make them as interesting as possible consistent with 
brevity. 

A new feature which the editor is confident that teachers 
will approve as of pedagogical value, is the Twenty Special 
Lessons. It is believed that every pupil who thoroughly 
prepares himself in the work outlined in these Special Les- 
sons, will have gone far toward attaining good taste in lit- 
erature and a love for the classics. To the pupils who may 
not yet have read the history of the various countries, it is 
hoped that the historical comments may conve}'' something 
of the atmosphere of the period in which the work is laid; 
and in the hands of a skillful teacher these comments should 
furnish incentives to conversation and discussion, and even 
themes for composition. The Questions, which are by no 
means exhaustive, are designed to stunulate thought. The 



iv PREFACE 

lines to be memorized, as well as those to be scamied, have 
been selected for their especial beauty of thought and ex- 
pression and for their ethical content. These quotations 
will familiarize the student with the names and the style of 
the great writers studied. 

From the foregoing it will also appear that an underlying 
purpose of the Series is to provide, not only for pupils in 
the schools but for their parents and other adults, appro- 
priate material for the appreciative enjoyment of literary 
masterpieces. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION vi 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow vi 

Some of the Works of Longfellow vii 

A Brief Account of the Pilgrims viii 

The Characters in the Poem x 

History of the Poem xi 

Figures of Speech xii 

The Meter of the Poem xiii 

THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 1 

I. Miles Standish 1 

II. Love and Friendship 7 

III. The Lover's Errand 12 

IV. John Alden 21 

V. The Sailing of the Mayflower 30 

VI. Priscilla 38 

VII. The March of Miles Standish 44 

VIII. The Spinning- Wheel 50 

IX. The Wedding-Day 56 

TWENTY SPECIAL LESSONS 65 

REFERENCE BOOKS 102 



INTRODUCTION 

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 

The quaint old town of Portland, Maine, was the birth- 
place of Longfellow. Here he received his early education 
and dreamed the "long, long thoughts" of youth. 

One year after completing the course at Bowdoin College, 
he was elected a professor there, but did not fill that office 
until he had devoted three years to study in Spain, France, 
Italy, and Germany. Later he resigned his professorship at 
Bowdoin in order that he might occupy the chair of modern 
languages and literature at Harvard University, which posi- 
tion he filled after another year abroad. He was twenty- 
eight years of age when he began his work at Harvard, and 
from that time until his death, he lived in the historic old 
Craigie House at Cambridge. On his last trip to Europe, 
when he was sixty-one years old, he was welcomed with great 
enthusiasm by the English people. 

For more than twenty-five years he devoted himself exclu- 
sively to literature, giving up his classes in college that he 
might have more time for this congenial work He was 
called the "children's poet" both on account of his love for 
children and because of the number of his poems that appeal 
to their taste. 

The tranquillity of his home life was several times invaded 
by poignant sorrow, but his poem Resignation shows the 
beautiful spirit in which he accepted his grief. 

He died in March, 1882, one month after he had com- 
pleted his seventy-fifth year; he was buried in Mount 
Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge. 



INTRODUCTION vii 

SOME OF THE WORKS OF LONGFELLOW 

Prose 

Outre-Mer. An account of his travels in Europe, 

Hyperion: A Romance. A record in diary form of his travels in 

Germany. ^ 

Poetry 
Voices of the Night. A volume containing A Psalm of Life, The 

Reaper and the Flowers, Footsteps of Angels, The Beleaguered 

City, etc. 
Ballads and Other Poems. This contains some of his most popular 

short poems: Excelsior, The Village Blacksmith, The Wreck 

of the Hesperus, The Skeleton in Armor, God's-Acre, and others. 
Poems on Slavery. 
The Spanish Student. A drama. 
The Poets and Poetry of Europe. Translations from ten different 

languages. 
The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems. Some of his best poems are 

found in this volume; among them are: Tlie Day is Done, 

The Arsenal at Springfield, The Bridge, etc. 
Evangeline. A tale founded on the banishment of the Acadians. 
The Seaside and the Fireside. A volmne containing among other 

poems: Resignation (in memory of his baby daughter), The 

Building of the Ship, The Fire of Driftwood, Twilight. 
The Song of Hiawatha. A long poem based on Indian legends. 
The Courtship of Miles Standish. A romance of the Old Colony 

days in Plymouth. 
Birds of Passage. Five groups of poems, each group called a 

"Fhght." 
Tales of a Wayside Inn. A number of tales supposed to be told by 

a group of visitors at an inn. They include Paid Revere' s Ride, 

The Legend Beaxdiful, Azrael, The Birds of Killingworth, and 

other interesting stories. 
Flower-de-Luce. A dozen short poems. 
Judas Maccahceus. A drama. 
Christum: A Mystery. Part I, The Divine Tragedy; Part II, The 

Golden Legend; Part III, The New England Tragedies. 



viii THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

The Hanging of the Crane. A companion piece to The Building 

of the Ship. 
Morituri Salutamus. Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his 

class at Bowdoin. 
The Masqice of Pandora. A dramatic poem, 
A Book of Sonnets. 

Ultima Thule. A group of short poems. 
In the Harbor. Twenty-four poems first published after the poet's 

death. 
Michael Angela: A Fragment. A dramatic poem published in 1884. 



A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE PILGRIMS 

The desire for religious liberty was the strong motive power 
that induced the Pilgrims to leave their country and face 
the terrors of a strange new world. These Puritans, as they 
were called, did not agree with all the tenets of the Anglican 
creed, which was that of the Established Church of England. 
Because they had met in secret and sought to worship God 
in their own way, they had been spied upon and persecuted 
until they made up their minds to leave England and settle 
in some land where freedom of worship was permitted. 
For this reason they chose Holland as a place of refuge, spend- 
ing ten years in Leyden with their pastor, John Robinson. 
But when they saw their children adopting the language and 
falling into the ways of the Hollanders, they decided to come 
to America, where they could retain both their religion and 
their nationality. 

After many delays, two ships were fitted out for them by 
some London merchants. Although the terms were disad- 
vantageous to the Pilgrims, and would oblige them at the 
end of seven years to divide equally with the merchants, 
capital and profits (houses, lands, goods), they were so 
anxious to depart that they assumed the heavy obligations. 



INTRODUCTION IX 

Their pastor accompanied them from Leyden to Delft- 
haven, where he watched them embark for England. As 
lack of funds prevented the majority of his congregation 
from leaving Holland at that time, it was deemed best for 
Pastor Robinson to remain with them. He died in 1625, 
before he could complete his plans to join the Pilgrims. 
From England, they started out in the two vessels, the 
Speedwell and the Mayflower, but the Speedwell proving 
unseaworthy, both ships were obliged to return, and as 
many passengers as possible accommodated themselves to 
the Mayflower. Finally, on September 6, 1620, the Pilgrims 
set sail for America. The privations suffered during the 
three months' voyage so undermined their health that many 
of them were unable to withstand the hard conditions of 
that first winter. Their charter designated the mouth of 
the Hudson river for the settlement, but adverse winds 
drove them farther north and they anchored off what is now 
Provincetown, on Cape Cod. 

Before landing, the Pilgrims drew up a solemn agreement 
in the form of a Compact, which gave them authority to 
"enact, constitute and frame" the laws, and institute the 
offices of the colony. Among the forty-one signers of this 
Compact were Brewster, Carver, Bradford, Standish, and 
Mullins. On the same day as the signing, John Carver was 
appointed Governor for the ensuing year. A searching party 
explored the neighboring coast and, having found a spring 
of pure water, decided to locate the settlement near it. Here 
the Pilgrims built their homes, and erected a fort that served 
the double purpose of fort and church. 

During this first winter, which fortunately was less severe 
than is usual along that coast, they were able to eke out their 
supplies with fish, game, and hardy winter plants. Never- 
theless, they lost one-half their number from disease and 
hardship. The entries in Bradford's Journal show what their 



X THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

sufferings must have been. When spring came, they im- 
proved their homes and planted seeds, so that the next 
cold weather found them prepared. 

In 1621 the Fortune brought thirty-five new settlers, 
and in 1623 about sixty arrived in the Anne and the Little 
James. This increase revived the spirits of the colonists, 
and in a few years they not only had freed themselves from 
their debt to the London merchants, but had established 
so thriving a trade in furs and fish as to assure the prosperity 
of the settlement. In 1691 the colony was incorporated with 
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

THE CHARACTERS IN THE POEM 

The characters in the poem are found in the old chronicles, 
but in many instances a brief statement has been enlarged 
by the poet and transformed into an interesting incident. 
The lives of the Puritans were tempered by a stern discipline; 
yet despite the harshness of the Puritan character, Long- 
fellow has invested the people of his poem with a tenderness 
and loyalty that have endeared them to posterity. 

Priscilla came to this country with her father (William 
Mullins), her mother, brother, and a man-servant. Of this 
group Priscilla was the only one who survived the first 
winter. After her marriage, she and John Alden settled in 
Duxbury, where their eleven children were surrounded by 
the greater conveniences and comforts made possible in the 
later years by the industry and progressive spirit of the 
colonists. 

The records of Miles Standish are brief. He was born in 
Lancashire, England, about 1584; the exact date is uncer- 
tain. It is thought that he belonged to one of the great 
families of England; he certainly believed himself defrauded 
of vast estates. In his last will, he bequeathed these estates 
to his oldest son, Alexander. As he was not a Puritan, his 



INTRODUCTION xi 

reason for joining the Pilgrims is unknown; it may have 
been admiration for their upright hves, or love of adven- 
ture, or perhaps discouragement at the loss of his inheritance. 
Believing that in Plymouth his children could not have all 
the benefits of country life, Miles Standish founded the town 
of Duxbury, near enough to Plymouth to keep him in touch 
with the interests of that village. His career was that of a 
useful citizen, and his death, in 1656, meant the loss to the 
colony of one who had not only guided their councils but had 
been dear to their hearts. 

When the Mayflower put in at Southampton for victuals, 
Jolin Alden, a cooper, then about twenty-one years old, 
decided to embark with the Pilgrims. A young man of vigor 
and refinement, he made a valuable addition to the little 
band. He took an active part in the civil affairs of the 
colony, and for over fifty years occupied the position of 
magistrate. He died at the age of eighty-eight. Many of 
his numerous decendants live near the old home. 

HISTORY OF THE POEM 

The facts forming the basis of the poem are true to history 
except as to time, the incidents of about three years being 
crowded into a period short enough to stimulate interest. 
Moreover, Longfellow has preferred to rearrange the chrono- 
logical sequences in a manner to enhance the dramatic 
effect. 

Much of the material is taken from Holmes's Annals of 
America^ Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims, and Bradford's 
History of Plymouth Plantation. 

Tenderness and humor were not predominant traits of 
Puritan character, but in such wholesome natures as those 
selected by Longfellow for his subjects, the sternly controlled 
native sweetness has been allowed some freedom, and appears 
all the more attractive for its grim setting. 



xu THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

The poem is distinctly American in feeling and has en- 
gendered greater interest in the early American settlements 
and deeper love for the Old Colony than would a series of 
volumes labeled History of New England. 

FIGURES OF SPEECH 

To express his thoughts in a clearer, more vigorous, or 
more beautiful way, the poet frequently uses figures of speech. 
Let us study some of the figures of speech in The Courtship. 

Simile. — In this figure, two unlike things are compared. 
By the comparison the meaning is made clearer. The word 
like or the word as is the one usually employed to denote the 
comparison. 

This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as 

the sunbeams 
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a 

moment. 

How readily we see the glancing brightness of the smiling 
look that came into his eyes. 

Trying to smUe, yet feeling his heart stand still in his 

bosom, 
Just as a timepiece stops in a house that is stricken by 

hghtning. 

Be careful to find the exact comparison. It is not the heart 
and the lightning that are compared. John Alden's heart 
stops beating when he hears the words of Miles Standish, 
just as a clock stops in a house that is stricken by lightning. 

Over him rushed, like a wind that is keen and cold and 

relentless, 
Thoughts of what might have been, and the weight and 

woe of his errand; 

The swiftly passing thought of the bitterness of his errand 
is compared to a keen, cold wind. 

Metaphor. — Metaphors are somewhat like similes, but in 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

a metaphor the term of hkeness (e. g., like or as) is not ex- 
pressed. The metaphor is more forceful than the simile. 
He is a little chimney, and heated hot in a moment. 

If the poet had written "He is like a little chimney, which is 
heated hot in a moment," the simile would have been less 
forceful than the metaphor. 

Only one of them old, the hill that was nearest to heaven, 
Covered with snow, but erect, the excellent Elder of 

Plymouth. _^^^ Mayflowers . . . 

Children lost m the woods . . . 

Personification ; Apostrophe. — In attributing to an in- 
animate object the qualities or actions of a person, we use a 
figure of speech called personification. This figure is often 
combined with apostrophe; that is, the thing personified 
is addressed. 

Float, O hand of cloud, and vanish away in the ether! 
Roll thyseK up Uke a fist, to threaten and daunt me; I 

heed not 
Either your warning or menace, or any omen of evil! 

John Alden speaks to the cloud as if it were a person capable 
of hearing and understanding him. 

THE METER OF THE POEM 

What is it that makes poetry different from prose? Not 
the rhyme, because all poetry does not rhyme; The Court- 
ship of Miles Standish does not rhyme. 

Rhythm; Meter. — Select two lines of prose and read 
them aloud. Now read aloud two lines of The Courtship. 
Notice the difference. In poetry some of the syllables are 
accented, and the accents come at regular intervals. This 
alternation of accented and unaccented syllables is called 
rhythm. When the rhythm of poetry is measured into feet, 
lines, and stanzas, it is called meter. It is the meter of 
poetry which distinguishes it from prose. 



xiv THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 
Foot. — Look closely at the following line: 

r r f ) r f 

You are a | writer, and 1 1 am a | fighter, but \ here is a | fellow . . . 

A foot is a portion of a line of poetry, consisting of two or 
three syllables combined according to accent. 

Hexameter. — A line containing six feet is called hex- 
ameter. The Courtship is written in hexameter. 

Dactyl. — When a foot consists of one accented syllable 
and two unaccented, it is called a dactyl (—"""). In mod- 
ern dactylic hexameter the fifth foot is regularly a dactyl. 

Trochee. — A foot containing one accented and one un- 
accented syllable is a trochee (— "'). The last foot in each 
line of The Courtship is a trochee. 

Caesura. — Toward the middle of nearly every line of 
poetry there is a pause, which is called a caesura. Vary- 
ing the location of the caesura in succeeding lines, makes 
the rhythm more agreeable. 

Scansion. — Dividing a line into feet and indicating the 
kind and the number of feet, is scanning the line, or giving 
the scansion. Lengthy lessons in scansion are apt to induce 
a sing-song method of reading poetry. 

Scan the following lines: 

1. Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe 

interrupting, 

2. That is because I have done it myself, and not left it 

to others. 

3. Winding through forest and swamp, and along the 

trend of the seashore, 

4. Is it to shoot red squirrels you have your howitzer 

planted . . . 

5. Let them come, if they like, and the sooner they try 

it the better, — 




Painting by Boughton 



JOHN ALDEN AND PRISCILLA 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

I 

MILES STANDISH 

In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth ^ the land of the 

Pilgrims, 
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,^ 
Clad in doublet and hose,^ and boots of Cordovan leather,^ 
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan 

Captain. 
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, 
and pausing 5 

Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare, 
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber, — 
Cutlass and corselet ^ of steel, and his trusty sword of Da- 
mascus,^ 
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic 
sentence,^ 

^ Plymouth, or the Old Colony, was the first settlement of English 
colonists on the coast of Massachusetts. 

* Roughly-built log house. 

' The doublet was a short, tight-fitting coat. Hose are stockings 
reaching to the knees; they were worn by the men in those days. 

* The goatskin which the Spanish of Cordova tanned by a special 
process received the name of Cordovan leather. 

* A cutlass is a short, curved sword. A corselet was a piece of steel 
armor worn to protect the chest and back. 

* Damascus is an ancient city of Syria, which was famous for its 
finely tempered sword blades. 

^ A sentence that long baffled interpretation. It was taken from the 
Koran (the Mohammedan Bible). 



2 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

While underneath, in a corner, were fowHng-piece, musket, 
and matchlock.^ ^° 

Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic, 

Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and 
sinews of iron; 

Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was 
already 

Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in 
November. 

Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and household 
companion, ^^ 

Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the 
window; 

Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion. 

Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the 
captives 

Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, ''Not Angles but 
Angels." ^ 

Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the May- 
flower. 2° 

Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe inter- 
rupting. 

Spake, in the pride of his heart. Miles Standish the Captain 
of Plymouth. 

"Look at these arms," he said, "the warlike weapons that 
hang here 

Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or inspec- 
tion ! 

1 A form of musket, now out of date. The gunlock contained a piece 
of cord that served as a match to fire the priming. 

2 The Angles were early inhabitants of Britain (England). It was 
unusual at that time to see fair-haired, blue-eyed captives in the Roman 
slave markets. 



MILES STANDISH 3 

This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders; ^ 
this breastplate, 25 

Well I remember the day! once saved my life in a skir- 
mish; 

Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet 

Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.^ 

Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles 
Standish 

Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the Flem- 
ish morasses." ^ so 

Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from 
his writing: 

"Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of 
the bullet; 

He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our 
weapon!" 

Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the 
stripling: 

"See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal 
hanging; 36 

That is because I have done it myself, and not left it to 
others. 



' Flanders was a large countship of the Low Countries. The terri- 
tory covered by the provinces of East and West Flanders in modern 
Belgium was once a part of this ancient county. In the fourteenth 
century, the city of Bruges, in Flanders, was a commercial center of 
Europe. In the market place of "that quaint old Flemish city," stands 
the belfry of which Longfellow has written. Although Flanders was 
frequently at war, her people nevertheless preserved their habits of 
thrift and industry and so Were able to maintain their industrial 
prosperity. 

^ A Spanish word, meaning a soldier whose principal weapon was an 
arquebus, an ancient hand gun. 

* The marshes of Flanders. 



4 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent 

adage ; 
So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your 

inkhorn.^ 
Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army, 
Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest ^ and his 

matchlock, 40 

Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pillage, 
And, like Caesar,^ I know the name of each of my soldiers!" 
This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the 

sunbeams 
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a 

moment. 
Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain 

continued : 45 

"Look! you can see from this window my brazen how- 
itzer * planted 
High on the roof of the church, a preacher who speaks to 

the purpose. 
Steady, straightforward, and strong, with irresistible logic, 
Orthodox, flashing conviction right into the hearts of the 

heathen. 
Now we are ready, I think, for any assault of the Indians : 50 
Let them come, if they like, and the sooner they try it the 

better, — 

1 The forerunner of the modern inkwell. 

2 As the matchlock was a heavy weapon, a support, or rest, was 
needed to steady the aim. 

^ JuHus Caesar was a great Roman general, statesman, writer, and 
orator. One of his famous books is the Commentaries, an account of his 
campaigns in Gaul and in the Civil War. His writings were first made 
public in 51 b. c. The editio princeps of Csesar's works was published 
about the middle of the fifteenth century; it was, therefore, among the 
earhest of printed books. 

* An old-fashioned cannon. 



MILES STANDISH 5 

Let them come if they like, be it sagamore, sachem, or 

pow-wow,^ 
Aspinet, Samoset, Corbitant, Squanto, or Tokamahamon ! " 

Long at the wmdow he stood, and wistfully gazed on the 

landscape, 
Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the 

east-wind, 55 

Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the 

ocean. 
Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine. 
Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on the 

landscape, 
Gloom intermingled with light; and his voice was subdued 

with emotion, 
Tenderness, pity, regret, as after a pause he proceeded : eo 
"Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried Rose 

Standish ; ^ 
Beautiful rose of love, that bloomed for me by the wayside! 
She was the first to die of all who came in the Mayflower! 
Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have sown 

there, 
' Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of our 

people, 65 

Lest they should count them and see how many already 

have perished!" 
Sadly his face he averted, and strode up and down, and was 

thoughtful. 

Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, and among 
them 

^ Sachem, great chief; sagamore, chief of lesser rank; pow-wow, 
one claiming skill in the use of herbs and charms. 

* The young wife of Miles Standish. She died February 8, 1621. 



6 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Prominent three, distinguished alike for bulk and for bind- 
ing; 

Barriffe's Artillery Guide/ and the Commentaries of Cse- 
sar, 70 

Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge ^ of London, 

And, as if guarded by these, between them was standing 
the Bible. 

Musing a moment before them, Miles Standish paused, as 
if doubtful 

Which of the three he should choose for his consolation and 
comfort. 

Whether the wars of the Hebrews, the famous campaigns 
of the Romans, 75 

Or the Artillery practice, designed for belligerent Christians. 

Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous 
Roman, 

Seated himself at the window, and opened the book, and in 
silence 

Turned o'er the well-worn leaves, where thumb-marks thick 
on the margin. 

Like the trample of feet, proclaimed the battle was hot- 
test. 80 

Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the 
stripling. 

Busily writing epistles important, to go by the May- 
flower, 

Ready to sail on the morrow, or next day at latest, God 
wilUng! 

Homeward bound with the tidings of all that terrible 
winter, 

1 The writer of this book was a Puritan, and to a title page of half a 
score of lines subjoined a text from the Psahns suited to the tone of 
the book. 

2 A writer and translator of the sixteenth century. 



LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP 7 

Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of Pris- 
cilla/ 85 

Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden 
Priscilla! 



II 



LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP 

Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the 
stripling, 

Or an occasional sigh from the laboring heart of the Cap- 
tain, 

Reading the marvellous words and achievements of Julius 
Caesar. 

After a while he exclaimed, as he smote with his hand, palm 
downwards, 90 

Heavily on the page: "A wonderful man was this Caesar! 

You are a writer, and I am a fighter, but here is a fellow 

Who could both write and fight, and in both was equally 
skilful!" 

Straightway answered and spake John Alden, the comely, 
the youthful : 

"Yes, he was equally skilled, as you say, with his pen and 
his weapons. 95 

Somewhere have I read, but where I forget, he could dic- 
tate 

Seven letters at once, at the same time writing his memoirs." 

"Truly," continued the Captain, not heeding or hearing the 
other, 

"Truly a wonderful man was Caius Julius Caesar! 

1 Priscilla Mullins was one of the Pilgrims. Her father, mother, 
and brother were with her on the Mayflower, but died during the first 
winter. 



8 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Better be first, he said, in a little Iberian ^ village, loo 

Than be second in Rome, and I think he was right when he 

said it. 
Twice was he married before he was twenty, and many times 

after ; 
Battles five hundred he fought, and a thousand cities he 

conquered ; 
He, too, fought in Flanders, as he himself has recorded;^ 
Finally he was stabbed by his friend, the orator Brutus!^ los 
Now, do you know what he did on a certain occasion in 

Flanders, 
When the rear-guard of his army retreated, the front giving 

way too. 
And the immortal Twelfth Legion * was crowded so closely 

together 
There was no room for their swords? Why, he seized a shield 

from a soldier. 
Put himself straight at the head of his troops, and com- 
manded the captains, no 
Calling on each by his name, to order forward the ensigns; 
Then to widen the ranks, and give more room for their 

weapons ; 
So he won the day, the battle of something-or-other. 
/^^hat's what I always say; if you wish a thing to be well 

done, 

^ In ancient times, Spain was called Iberia. 

^ CsBsar's most brilliant victory was the defeat of the Nervii, a bar- 
barous tribe inhabiting that part of Flanders which is now called Belgium. 

' This is Marcus Junius Brutus, a Roman general. He held various 
offices in the Republic: Senator, City Prsetor, Governor of Cisalpine 
Gaul. Influenced by the other conspirators, he believed that the wel- 
fare of his country demanded the death of Caesar, so he took part in 
the assassination. "Therefore 'tis meet that noble minds keep ever 
with their likes." — Shakespeare's Julius Coesar. 

* A legion was one of the divisions of the Roman army. In the time 
of Caesar it consisted of about six thousand men. 



LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP 9 

You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to 
others!" 115 

All was silent again; the Captain continued his reading. 
Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the 

stripling 
Writing epistles important to go next day by the Mayflower, 
Filled with the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden 

Priscilla ; 
Every sentence began or closed with the name of Pris- 
cilla, 120 
Till the treacherous pen, to which he confided the secret, 
Strove to betray it by singing and shouting the name of 

Priscilla! 
Finally closing his book, with a bang of the ponderous cover. 
Sudden and loud as the sound of a soldier grounding his 

musket, 
Thus to the young man spake Miles Standish the Captain 
of Plymouth : 125 

"When you have finished your work, I have something im- 
portant to tell you. 
Be not however in haste; I can wait; I shall not be im- 
patient!" 
Straightway Alden replied, as he folded the last of his letters, 
Pushing his papers aside, and giving respectful attention : 
"Speak; for whenever you speak, I am always ready to 
listen, 130 

Always ready to hear whatever pertains to Miles Standish." 
Thereupon answered the Captain, embarrassed, and culling 

his phrases : 
" 'Tis not good for a man to be alone, say the Scriptures.^ - 
This I have said before, and again and again I repeat it ; 
Every hour in the day, I think it, and feel it, and say it. 135 
1 Genesis, ii. 18. 



10 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Since Rose Standish died, my life has been weary and dreary; 

Sick at heart have I been, beyond the healing of friendship. 

Oft in my lonely hours have I thought of the maiden Pris- 
cilla. 

She is alone in the world; her father and mother and 
brother 

Died in the winter together ; I saw her going and coming, 140 

Now to the grave of the dead, and now to the bed of the 
dying, 

Patient, courageous, and strong, and said to myself, that if 
ever 

There were angels on earth, as there are angels in heaven, 

Two have I seen and knoAvn; and the angel whose name is 
Priscilla 

Holds in my desolate life the place which the other aban- 
doned, 145 

Long have I cherished the thought, but never have dared 
to reveal it. 

Being a coward in this, though valiant enough for the most 
part. 

Go to the damsel Priscilla, the loveliest maiden of Plymouth, 

Say that a blunt old Captain, a man not of words but of 
actions. 

Offers his hand and his heart, the hand and heart of a sol- 
dier. 150 

Not in these words, you know, but this in short is my mean- 
ing; 

I am a maker of war, and not a maker of phrases. 

You, who are bred as a scholar, can say it in elegant lan- 
guage, 

Such as you read in your books of the pleadings and wooings 
of lovers. 

Such as you think best adapted to win the heart of a 
maiden." i5S 



LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP 11 

When he had spoken, John Alden, the fair-haired, taciturn 

stripling. 
All aghast at his words, surprised, embarrassed, bewildered, 
Trying to mask his dismay by treating the subject with 

lightness, 
Trying to smile, and yet feehng his heart stand still in his 

bosom, 
Just as a timepiece stops in a house that is stricken by 

lightning, leo 

Thus made answer and spake, or rather stammered than 

answered : 
"Such a message as that, I am sure I should mangle and 

mar it ; 
If you would have it well done, — I am only repeating your 

maxim, — 
You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others!" 
But with the air of a man whom nothing can turn from his 

purpose, 165 

Gravely shaking his head, made answer the Captain of 

Plymouth : 
"Truly the maxim is good, and I do not mean to gainsay 

it; 

But we must use it discreetly, and not waste powder for- 
nothing. 

Now, as I said before, I was never a maker of phrases. 

I can march up to a fortress and summon the place to sur- 
render, 170 

But march up to a woman with such a proposal, I dare not. 

I'm not afraid of bullets, nor shot from the mouth of a 
cannon, 

But of a thundering 'No!' point-blank from the mouth of 
a woman. 

That I confess I'm afraid of, nor am I ashamed to 
confess it! 



12 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

So you must grant my request, for you are an elegant 

scholar, 175 

Having the graces of speech, and skill in the turning of 

phrases." 
Taking the hand of his friend, who still was reluctant and 

doubtful, 
Holding it long in his own, and pressing it kindly, he 

added : 
"Though I have spoken thus lightly, yet deep is the feeling 

that prompts me; 
Surely you cannot refuse what I ask in the name of our 

friendship ! " iso 

Then made answer John Alden: "The name of friendship 

is sacred ; 
What you demand in that name, I have not the power to 

deny you!" 
So the strong will prevailed, subduing and moulding the 

gentler. 
Friendship prevailed over love, and Alden went on his 

errand. 

in 

THE lover's errand 

So the strong will prevailed, and Alden went on his 
errand, iss 

Out of the street ^ of the village, and into the paths of the 
forest, 

^ There was but one street in the village. At the time of our story 
there were only eleven buildings: seven dwelling houses, two store- 
houses, a common house, and the fort. Miles Standish occupied the 
house at the end of the street, nearest the fort. Old pictures show the 
houses arranged on both sides of the street, Governor Bradford's place 
being slightly more imposing than its neighbors. 



THE LOVER'S ERRAND 13 

Into the tranquil woods, where bluebirds and robins were 
building 

Towns in the populous trees, with hanging gardens of 
verdure. 

Peaceful, aerial cities of joy and affection and freedom. 

All around him was calm, but within him commotion and 
conflict, 190 

Love contending with friendship, and self with each generous 
impulse. 

To and fro in his breast his thoughts were heaving and 
dashing, 

As in a foundering ship, with every roll of the vessel, 

Washes the bitter sea, the merciless surge of the ocean! 

"Must I relinquish it all," he cried with a wild lamenta- 
tion, 195 

"Must I relinquish it all, the joy, the hope, the illusion? 

Was it for this I have loved, and waited, and worshipped in 
silence? 

Was it for this I have followed the flying feet and the 
shadow 

Over the wintry sea, to the desolate shores of New Eng- 
land? 

Truly the heart is deceitful, and out of its depths of cor^x 
ruption 200 ] 

Rise, like an exhalation, the misty phantoms of passion;-^ 

Angels of light they seem, but are only delusions of Satai*;-' 

All is clear to me now ; I feel it, I see it distinctly ! 

This is the hand of the Lord; it is laid upon me in anger, 

For I have followed too much the heart's desires and de- 
vices, 205 

Worshipping Astaroth blindly, and impious idols of Baal.^ 

This is the cross I must bear; the sin and the swift retribu- 
tion." 
* Astaroth was a goddess, and Baal, a god of the Phcenicians. 



14 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

So through the Plymouth woods John Alden went on his 

errand ; 
Crossing the brook at the ford, where it brawled over pebble 

and shallow, 
Gathering still, as he went, the Mayflowers blooming around 

him, 210 

Fragrant, filling the air with a strange and wonderful sweet- 
ness. 
Children lost in the woods, and covered with leaves in their 

slumber.^ 
"Puritan flowers," he said, "and the type of Puritan maidens, 
Modest and simple and sweet,^ the very type of Priscilla! 
So I will take them to her; to Priscilla the Mayflower of 

Plymouth, 215 

Modest and simple and sweet, as a parting gift will I take 

them; 
Breathing their silent farewells, as they fade and wither and 

perish. 
Soon to be thrown away as is the heart of the giver." 
So through the Plymouth woods John Alden went on his 

errand ; 
Came to an open space, and saw the disk of the ocean, 220 
Sailless, sombre and cold with the comfortless breath of the 

east- wind ; 
Saw the new-built house, and people at work in a meadow; 
Heard, as he drew near the door, the musical voice of Priscilla 

1 The Ballad of the Babes in the Wood tells of a cruel uncle, who, 
to obtain the money of his little niece and nephew, hired two ruffians 
to take the children to a neighboring wood and there murder them. 
The innocence of the babes touched the heart of one of the men, who 
thereupon induced the other to leave them. The children died of star- 
vation, and the robins covered them with leaves. 

^ This is a pretty comparison. The Mayflower, or trailing arbutus, 
grows close to the ground as if to hide beneath the leaves; it is tinted 
with pink and is delicately fragrant. 



THE LOVER'S ERRAND 15 

Singing the hundredth Psalm, the grand old Puritan anthem, 

Music that Luther sang to the sacred words of the Psalm- 
ist, 225 

Full of the breath of the Lord, consoling and comforting 
many. 

Then, as he opened the door, he beheld the form of the 
maiden 

Seated beside her wheel, and the carded wool like a snow- 
drift 

Piled at her knee, her white hands feeding the ravenous 
spindle. 

While with her foot on the treadle she guided the wheel in 
its motion. 230 

Open wide on her lap lay the well-worn psalm-book of 
Ainsworth,^ 

Printed in Amsterdam, the words and the music together. 

Rough-hewn, angular notes, like stones in the wall of a 
churchyard, 

Darkened and overhung by the running vine of the verses. 

Such was the book from whose pages she sang the old Puritan 
anthem, 235 

She, the Puritan girl, in the solitude of the forest, 

Making the humble house and the modest apparel of home- 
spun 

Beautiful with her beauty, and rich with the wealth of her 
being! 

Over him rushed, like a wind that is keen and cold and 
relentless, 

Thoughts of what might have been, and the weight and woe 
of his errand ; 240 

^ Ainsworth was a follower of the teachings of Robert Browne, an 
English theologian, who was the founder of a rehgious sect. Ains- 
worth made a translation of the Psalms. 



16 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

All the dreams that had faded, and all the hopes that had 

vanished, 
All his life henceforth a dreary and tenantless mansion, 
Haunted by vain regrets, and pallid, sorrowful faces. 
Still he said to himself, and almost fiercely he said it, 
"Let not him that putteth his hand to the plough look 

backwards ; ^ 245 

Though the plougshare cut through the flowers of life to its 

foimtains, 
Though it pass o'er the graves of the dead and the hearths 

of the living. 
It is the will of the Lord; and his mercy endureth forever!" 

So he entered the house; and the hum of the wheel and 

the singing 
Suddenly ceased; for Priscilla, aroused by his step on the 

threshold, 250 

Rose as he entered and gave him her hand, in signal of 

welcome, 
Saying, "I knew it was you, when I heard your step in the 

passage ; 
For I was thinking of you, as I sat there singing and spin- 
ning." 
Awkward and dumb with delight, that a thought of him had 

been mingled 
Thus in the sacred psalm, that came from the heart of the 

maiden, 255 

Silent before her he stood, and gave her the flowers for an 

answer. 
Finding no words for his thought. He remembered that 

day in the winter. 
After the first great snow, when he broke a path from the 

village, 

1 Compare Luke, ix. 62. 



THE LOVER'S ERRAND 17 

Reeling and plunging along through the drifts that encum- 
bered the doorway, 

Stamping the snow from his feet as he entered the house, 
and Priscilla 260 

Laughed at his snowy locks, and gave him a seat by the 
fireside, 

Grateful and pleased to know he had thought of her in the 
snow-storm. 

Had he but spoken then! perhaps not in vain had he 
spoken ; 

Now it was all too late ; the golden moment had vanished ! 

So he stood there abashed, and gave her the flowers for an 
answer. 265 

Then they sat down and talked of the birds and the beau- 
tiful Spring-time ; 

Talked of their friends at home, and the Mayflower that 
sailed on the morrow. 

"I have been thinking all day," said gently the Puritan 
maiden, 

"Dreaming all night, and thinking all day, of the hedge- 
rows of England, — 

They are in blossom now, and the country is all like a 
garden ; 270 

Thinking of lanes and fields, and the song of the lark and 
the linnet. 

Seeing the village street, and familiar faces of neighbors 

Going about as of old, and stopping to gossip together. 

And, at the end of the street, the village church, with the 
ivy 

Climbing the old gray tower, and the quiet graves in the 
churchyard. 275 

Kind are the people I live with, and dear to me my reli- 
gion; 



18 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Still my heart is so sad, that I wish myself back in Old 

England. 
You will say it is wrong, but I cannot help it : I almost 
Wish myself back in Old England, I feel so lonely and 

wretched." 

Thereupon answered the youth: "Indeed I do not con- 
demn you; 280 

Stouter hearts than a woman's have quailed in this terrible 
winter. 

Yours is tender and trusting, and needs a stronger to lean 
on; 

So I have come to you now, with an offer and proffer of 
marriage 

Made by a good man and true. Miles Standish the Captain 
of Plymouth!" 

Thus he delivered his message, the dexterous writer of 
letters, — 285 

Did not embellish the theme, nor array it in beautiful 
phrases. 

But came straight to the point, and blurted it out like a 
school-boy ; 

Even the Captain himself could hardly have said it more 
bluntly. 

Mute with amazement and sorrow, Priscilla the Puritan 
maiden 

Looked into Alden's face, her eyes dilated with wonder, 290 

Feeling his words like a blow, that stunned her and ren- 
dered her speechless; 

Till at length she exclaimed, interrupting the ominous 
silence : 

"If the great Captain of Plymouth is so very eager to wed 
me, 



THE LOVER'S ERRAND 19 

Why does he not come himself, and take the trouble to 

woo me? 
If I am not worth the wooing, I surely am not worth the 

winning!" 295 

Then John Alden began explaining and smoothing the 

matter. 
Making it worse as he went, by saying the Captain was 

busy, — 
Had no time for such things ; — such things ! the words 

grating harshly 
Fell on the ear of Priscilla; and swift as a flash she made 

answer : 
"Has he no time for such things, as you call it, before he is 

married, 300 

Would he be likely to find it, or make it, after the wedding? 
That is the way with you men; you don't understand us, 

you cannot. 
When you have made up your minds, after thinking of this 

one and that one. 
Choosing, selecting, rejecting, comparing one with another, 
Then you make known your desire, with abrupt and sudden 

avowal, 305 

And are offended and hurt, and indignant perhaps, that a 

woman 
Does not respond at once to a love that she never suspected, 
Does not attain at a bound the height to which you have 

been climbing. 
This is not right nor just; for surely a woman's affection 
Is not a thing to be asked for, and had for only the ask- 
ing. 310 
When one is truly in love, one not only says it, but showa 

it. 
Had he but waited awhile, had he only showed that he loved 

me. 



20 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Even this Captain of yours — who knows? — at last might 

have won me, 
Old ^ and rough as he is; but now it never can happen." 

Still John Alden went on, unheeding the words of Pris- 
cilla, 315 

Urging the suit of his friend, explaining, persuading, ex- 
panding ; 

Spoke of his courage and skill, and of all his battles in 
Flanders, 

How with the people of God he had chosen to suffer affliction, 

How, in return for his zeal, they had made him Captain of 
Plymouth ; 

He was a gentleman born, could trace his pedigree plainly 320 

Back to Hugh Standish of Duxbury Hall, in Lancashire, 
England, 

Who was the son of Ralph, and the grandson of Thurston 
de Standish ; 

Heir unto vast estates, of which he was basely defrauded,^ 

Still bore the family arms, and had for his crest a cock 
argent 

Combed and wattled gules, and all the rest of the blazon.^ 325 

He was a man of honor, of noble and generous nature; 

Though he was rough, he was kindly ; she knew how during 
the winter 

He had attended the sick, with a hand as gentle as woman's ; 

^ He was about thirty-six years of age at this time. 

^ The loss of these estates is supposed to have influenced his deci- 
sion with regard to joining the Pilgrims. 

' Noble families were entitled to use a coat of arms. This was a 
certain device wrought, at first, in the coat of mail but, at a later period, 
on the shield. A silver cock with a red comb and wattles, appended to 
the family shield, was the crest of the Standish family. The word 
blazon means, comprehensively, every part of the design which consti- 
tutes a coat of arms. 



JOHN ALDEN 21 

Somewhat hasty and hot, he could not deny it, and head- 
strong, 

Stern as a soldier might be, but hearty, and placable 
always, 330 

Not to be laughed at and scorned, because he was little of 
stature ; 

For he was great of heart, magnanimous, courtly, courageous; 

Any woman in Plymouth, nay, any woman in England, 

Might be happy and proud to be called the wife of Miles 
Standish ! 

But as he warmed and glowed, in his simple and eloquent 
language, 335 

Quite forgetful of self, and full of the praise of his rival. 
Archly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes overrunning with 

laughter, 
Said, in a tremulous voice, "Why don't you speak for your- 
self, John?" 



IV 

JOHN ALDEN 

Into the open air John Alden, perplexed and bewildered. 
Rushed like a man insane, and wandered alone by the 
sea-side ; 340 

Paced up and down the sands, and bared his head to the 

east- wind. 
Cooling his heated brow, and the fire and fever within 

him. 
Slowly, as out of the heavens, with apocalyptical splendors, 
Sank the City of God, in the vision of John the Apostle, 
So, with its cloudy walls of chrysolite, jasper, and sap- 
phire, 345 



22 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Sank the broad red sun, and over its turrets uplifted 
Glimmered the golden reed of the angel who measured the 
city. 

"Welcome, O wind of the East!" he exclaimed in his wild 

exultation, 
"Welcome, O wind of the East, from the caves of the misty 

Atlantic ! 
Blowing o'er fields of dulse,^ and measureless meadows of 

sea-grass, 350 

Blowing o'er rocky wastes, and the grottos and gardens of 

ocean! 
Lay thy cold, moist hand on my burning forehead, and 

wrap me 
Close in thy garments of mist, to allay the fever within 

me!" 

Like an awakened conscience, the sea was moaning and 
tossing. 

Beating remorseful and loud the mutable sands of the sea- 
shore. 355 

Fierce in his soul was the struggle and tumult of passions 
contending ; 

Love triumphant and crowned, and friendship wounded and 
bleeding, 

Passionate cries of desire, and importunate pleadings of 
duty! 

"Is it my fault," he said, "that the maiden has chosen be- 
tween us? 

Is it my fault that he failed, — my fault that I am the 
victor? " 360 

^ Dulse is a form of seaweed that grows in long strips; it is red in 
color. In Nova Scotia and Scotland the people use it as food. 



JOHN ALDEN 23 

Then within him there thundered a voice, like the voice of 
the Prophet : ^ 

"It hath displeased the Lord!" — and he thought of David's 
transgression, 

Bathsheba's beautiful face, and his friend in the front of 
the battle! 

Shame and confusion of guilt, and abasement and self- 
condemnation. 

Overwhelmed him at once; and he cried in the deepest 
contrition : 365 

"It hath displeased the Lord! It is the temptation of 
Satan!" 

Then, uplifting his head, he looked at the sea, and beheld 

there 
Dimly the shadowy form of the Mayflower riding at 

anchor, 
Rocked on the rising tide, and ready to sail on the morrow ; 
Heard the voices of men through the mist, the rattle of 

cordage 370 

Thrown on the deck, the shouts of the mate, and the sailors' 

"Ay, ay, Sir!" 
Clear and distinct, but not loud, in the dripping air of the 

twilight. 
Still for a moment he stood, and listened, and stared at the 

vessel. 
Then went hurriedly on, as one who, seeing a phantom, 
Stops, then quickens his pace, and follows the beckoning 

shadow. 375 

"Yes, it is plain to me now," he murmured; "the hand of 

the Lord is 
Leading me out of the land of darkness, the bondage of 

error, 

* Nathan, the prophet. 



24 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Through the sea, that shall lift the walls of its waters around 

me, 
Hiding me, cutting me off, from the cruel thoughts that 

pursue me.^ 
Back will I go o'er the ocean, this dreary land will 

abandon, sso 

Her whom I may not love, and him whom my heart has 

offended. 
Better to be in my grave in the green old churchyard in 

England, 
Close by my mother's side, and among the dust of my kin- 
dred; 
Better be dead and forgotten, than living in shame and 

dishonor! 
Sacred and safe and unseen, in the dark of the narrow 

chamber 385 

With me my secret shall lie, like a buried jewel that glimmers 
Bright on the hand that is dust, in the chambers of silence 

and darkness, — 
Yes, as the marriage ring of the great espousal hereafter!" 

Thus as he spake, he turned, in the strength of his strong 

resolution. 
Leaving behind him the shore, and hurried along in the 

twilight, 390 

Through the congenial gloom of the forest silent and sombre, 
Till he beheld the lights in the seven houses of Plymouth, 
Shining like seven stars in the dusk and mist of the evening. 
Soon he entered his door, and found the redoubtable Captain 
Sitting alone, and absorbed in the martial pages of 

Caesar, 395 

^ The story of the Israelites' escape from bondage in Egypt and their 
pursuit by Pharaoh through the Red Sea will be found in Exodus, 
chapters xii-xiv. 



JOHN ALDEN 25 

Fighting some great campaign in Hainault or Brabant or 

Flanders.^ 
"Long have you been on your errand," he said with a cheery 

demeanor, 
Even as one who is waiting an answer, and fears not the 

issue. 
"Not far off is the house, although the woods are between 

us; 
But you have Ungered so long, that while you were going 

and coming 40o 

I have fought ten battles and sacked and demolished a 

city. 
Come, sit down, and in order relate to me all that has 

happened." 

Then John Alden spake, and related the wondrous adven- 
ture 

From beginning to end, minutely, just as.it happened; 

How he had seen Priscilla, and how he had sped in his 
courtship, 405 

Only smoothing a little, and softening doAvn her refusal. 

But when he came at length to the words Priscilla had 
spoken. 

Words so tender and cruel, "Why don't you speak for your- 
self, John?" 

Up leaped the Captain of Plymouth, and stamped on the 
floor, till his armor 

1 The former countship of Hainault comprised a part of France as 
well as the present province in Belgium. Brabant was formerly a large 
and important district of the Netherlands. Godfrey the Bearded was 
the first to assume the title of Count of Brabant; this title was changed 
to Duke by his great-grandson, Henry I, the Warrior (1190-1235). 
The old duchy is now divided into North Brabant in Holland and the 
provinces of Antwerp and Brabant in Belgium. For footnote on 
Flanders see page 3. 



26 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Clanged on the wall, where it hung, with a sound of sinister 
omen. 410 

All his pent-up wrath burst forth in a sudden explosion, 

E'en as a hand-grenade,^ that scatters destruction around it. 

Wildly he shouted, and loud: "John Alden! you have 
betrayed me! 

Me, Miles Standish, your friend! have supplanted, defrauded, 
betrayed me! 

One of my ancestors^ ran his sword through the heart of 
Wat Tyler; 3 4i5 

Who shall prevent me from running my own through the 
heart of a traitor? 

Yours is the greater treason, for yours is a treason to 
friendship ! 

You, who lived under my roof, whom I cherished and loved 
as a brother; 

You, who have fed at my board, and drunk at my cup, to 
whose keeping 

I have intrusted my honor, my thoughts the most sacred 
and secret, — 420 

■^-"'"'^You, too, Brutus! * ah, woe to the name of friendship here- 
after! 

Brutus was Caesar's friend, and you were mine, but hence- 
forward 

Let there be nothing between us save war, and implacable 
hatred!" 

^ A hand-grenade is a sort of bomb thrown by hand into the trenches 
of the enemy or upon those entering a breach in a fortification. The 
effective use of the hand-grenade by the soldiers in the trenches haa 
been one of the notable features of modern warfare. 

'^ John Standish, a squire of Richard II. 

' In 1381, during the reign of Richard II, in England, Wat Tyler 
led the peasants in an unsuccessful revolt. 

* These are said to have been the words of Cajsar when he saw his 
friend Brutus among those who were attacking him. 



JOHN ALDEN 27 

So spake the Captain of Plymouth, and strode about in 
the chamber, 

Chafing and choking with rage; like cords were the veins 
on his temples. 425 

But in the midst of his anger a man appeared at the door- 
way. 

Bringing in uttermost haste a message of urgent hnportance, 

Rumors of danger and war and hostile incursions of Indians ! 

Straightway the Captain paused, and, without further ques- 
tion or parley, 

Took from the nail on the wall his sword with its scabbard of 
iron, 430 

Buckled the belt round his waist, and, frowning fiercely, 
departed. 

Alden was left alone. He heard the clank of the scabbard 

Growing fainter and fainter, and dying away in the dis- 
tance. 

Then he arose from his seat, and looked forth into the dark- 
ness, 

Felt the cool air blow on his cheek, that was hot with the 
insult, 435 

Lifted his eyes to the heavens, and, folding his hands as in 
f childhood. 

Prayed in the silence of night to the Father who seeth in 
secret.^ 

; . ' 

Meanwhile the choleric Captain strode wrathful away to 
the council,^ 

Found it already assembled, impatiently waiting his com- 
ing; i . ' 

Men in the middle o? life, austere and grave in deport- 
ment, "-^ 440 

* Compare Matthew, vi. 6. 

^ The council was composed of the leading men of the colony. 



28 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Only one of them old, the hill that was nearest to heaven, 
Covered with snow, but erect, the excellent Elder of Pljon- 

outh. 
God had sifted three kingdoms ^ to find the wheat for this 

planting. 
Then had sifted the wheat, as the living seed of a nation; 
So say the chronicles old, and such is the faith of the 

people ! 445 

Near them was standing an Indian, in attitude stern and 

defiant, 
Naked down to the waist, and grim and ferocious in aspect; 
While on the table before them was lying unopened a 

Bible, 
Ponderous, bound in leather, brass-studded, printed in 

Holland, 
And beside it outstretched the skin of a rattlesnake glit- 
tered, 450 
Filled, like a quiver, with arrows : a signal and challenge of 

warfare,^ 
Brought by the Indian, and speaking with arrowy tongues 

of defiance. 
This Miles Standish beheld, as he entered, and heard them 

debating 
What were an answer befitting the hostile message and 

menace. 
Talking of this and of that, contriving, suggesting, object- 
ing ; 455 
One voice only for peace, and that the voice of the Elder, 
Judging it wise and well that some at least were converted, 
Rather than any were slain, for this was but Christian 

behavior! 

1 The three kingdoms were England, Scotland, and Holland. 
^ An Indian method of declaring war was to send the enemy a rattle- 
snake skin filled with arrows. 



JOHN ALDEN 29 

Then out spake Miles Standish, the stalwart Captain of 

Plymouth, 
Muttering deep in his throat, for his voice was husky with 
anger, 460 

"What! do you mean to make war with milk and the water 

of roses? 
Is it to shoot red squirrels you have your howitzer planted 
There on the roof of the church, or is it to shoot red devils? 
Truly the only tongue that is understood by a savage 
Must be the tongue of fire that speaks from the mouth of 
the cannon!" 465 

Thereupon answered and said the excellent Elder of Plym- 
outh, 
Somewhat amazed and alarmed at this irreverent language : 
"Not so thought Saint Paul, nor yet the other Apostles; 
Not from the cannon's mouth were the tongues of fire ^ they 

spake with!" 
But unheeded fell this mild rebuke on the Captain, 470 

Who had advanced to the table, and thus continued dis- 
coursing : 
"Leave this matter to me, for to me by right it pertaineth.^ 
War is a terrible trade ; but in the cause that is righteous. 
Sweet is the smell of powder; and thus I answer the 
challenge!" 

Then from the rattlesnake's skin, with a sudden, con- 
temptuous gesture, 475 

Jerking the Indian arrows, he filled it with powder and 
bullets 

Full to the very jaws, and handed it back to the savage, 

* Compare Acts, ii. 3 and 4. 

' As Miles Standish had been appointed the mihtary commander 
of the colony, the Compact gave him full authority in all matters 
relating to war. 



30 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Saying, in thundering tones: "Here, take it! this is your 

answer!" 
Silently out of the room then glided the glistening savage, 
Bearing the serpent's skin, and seeming himself like a 

serpent, 48o 

Winding his sinuous way in the dark to the depths of the 

forest. 



THE SAILING OF THE MAYFLOWER 

Just in the gray of the dawn, as the mists uprose from 

the meadows. 
There was a stir and a sound in the slumbering village of 

Plymouth ; 
Clanging and clicking of arms, and the order imperative, 

"Forward!" 
Given in tone suppressed, a tramp of feet, and then si- 
lence. 485 
Figures ten, in the mist, marched slowly out of the village. 
Standish the stalwart it was, with eight of his valorous 

army. 
Led by their Indian guide, by Hobomok, friend of the white 

men. 
Northward marching to quell the sudden revolt of the 

savage.^ 
Giants they seemed in the mist, or the mighty men of King 

David ; 490 

Giants in heart they were, who believed in God and the 

Bible, — 

^ This expedition of MUes Standish took place in 1623. The uprising 
of these scattered tribes had been made known to the Pilgrims by 
Massasoit, chief of the friendly tribe of Wampanoags. 



THE SAILING OF THE MAYFLOWER 31 

Ay, who believed in the smiting of Midianites and Philis- 
tines.^ 
Over them gleamed far off the crimson banners of morning; 
Under them loud on the sands, the serried billows, advancing. 
Fired along the line, and in regular order retreated. 495 

Many a mile had they marched, when at length the village 

of Plymouth 
Woke from its sleep, and arose, intent on its manifold 

labors. 
Sweet was the air and soft ; and slowly the smoke from the 

chimneys 
Rose over roofs of thatch, and pointed steadily eastward ; 
Men came forth from the doors, and paused and talked of 

the weather, 500 

Said that the wind had changed, and was blowing fair for 

the Mayflower; 
Talked of their Captain's departure, and all the dangers 

that menaced. 
He being gone, the town, and what should be done in his 

absence. 
Merrily sang the birds, and the tender voices of women 
Consecrated with hymns the common cares of the house- 
hold. 505 
Out of the sea rose the sun, and the billows rejoiced at his 

coming ; 
Beautiful were his feet on the purple tops of the mountains; 
Beautiful on the sails of the Mayflower riding at anchor. 
Battered and blackened and worn by all the storms of the 

winter.^ 

^ The Midianites were an Arabian tribe. The Philistines were a 
belligerent people with whom the Hebrews were often at war. 

^ In accordance with the articles of contract, the Mayflower remained 
in the harbor until the Pilgrims had established the colony. 



32 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Loosely against her masts was hanging and flapping her 
canvas, 510 

Rent by so many gales, and patched by the hands of the 
sailors. 

Suddenly from her side, as the sun rose over the ocean, 

Darted a puff of smoke, and floated seaward ; anon rang 

Loud over field and forest the carmon's roar, and the 
echoes 

Heard and repeated the sound, the signal-gun of depar- 
ture! ^ 615 

Ah! but with louder echoes replied the hearts of the people! 

Meekly, in voices subdued, the chapter was read from the 
Bible, 

Meekly the prayer was begun, but ended in fervent entreaty !^ 

Then from their houses in haste came forth the Pilgrims of 
Plymouth, 

Men and women and children, all hurrying down to the sea- 
shore, 520 

Eager, with tearful eyes, to say farewell to the Mayflower, 

Homeward bound o'er the sea, and leaving them here in the 
desert. 

Foremost among them was Alden. All night he had lain 

without slumber. 
Turning and tossing about in the heat and unrest of his 

fever. 
He had beheld Miles Standish, who came back late from the 

council, 625 

Stalking into the room, and heard him mutter and murmur. 
Sometimes it seemed a prayer, and sometimes it sounded 
like swearing. 

1 April 5, 1621, waa the date of the departure of the Mayflower. 
* Prayer for strength to continue the struggle in the New World 
and resist the temptation to return to England in the Mayflower. 



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THE SAILING OF THE MAYFLOWER 33 

Once he had come to the bed, and stood there a moment in 
silence ; 

Then he had turned away, and said: "I will not awake 
him; 

Let him sleep on, it is best; for what is the use of more 
talking!" 530 

Then he extinguished the light, and threw himself down on 
his pallet, 

Dressed as he was, and ready to start at the break of the 
morning, — 

Covered himself with the cloak he had worn in his campaigns 
in Flanders, — 

Slept as a soldier sleeps in his bivouac,^ ready for action. 

But with the dawn he arose ; in the twilight ^ Alden beheld 
him 535 

Put on his corselet of steel, and all the rest of his armor, 

Buckle about his waist his trusty blade of Damascus, 

Take from the corner his musket, and so stride out of the 
chamber. 

Often the heart of the youth had burned and yearned to em- 
brace him. 

Often his lips had essayed to speak, imploring for par- 
don ; 540 

All the old friendship came back with its tender and grateful 

emotions ; 
But his pride overmastered the nobler nature within him, — 
Pride, and the sense of his wrong, and the burning fire of 

the insult. 
So he beheld his friend departing in anger, but spake not. 
Saw him go forth to danger, perhaps to death, and he spake 

not ! 545 

' A camp where the soldiers are ready to go into action at the ehght- 
est alarm. 

^ Morning twilight; gray dawn. 



34 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Then he arose from his bed, and heard what the people were 

saying, 
Joined in the talk at the door, with Stephen and Richard 

and Gilbert, 
Joined in the morning prayer, and in the reading of 

Scripture, 
And, with the others, in haste went hurrying down to the 

sea-shore, 
Down to the Plymouth Rock,^ that had been to their feet as 

a doorstep 550 

Into a world unknown, — the corner-stone of a nation! 

There with his boat was the Master,^ already a little 

impatient 
Lest he should lose the tide, or the wind might shift to the 

eastward. 
Square-built, hearty, and strong, with an odor of ocean 

about him. 
Speaking with this one and that, and cramming letters and 

parcels 555 

Into his pockets capacious, and messages mingled together 
Into his narrow brain, till at last he was wholly bewildered. 
Nearer the boat stood Alden, with one foot placed on the 

gunwale. 
One still firm on the rock, and talking at times with the 

sailors, 
Seated erect on the thwarts, all ready and eager for start- 
ing. 560 

1 The rock on which the Pilgrims are supposed to have stepped when 
landing from the Mayflower. 

2 This was Captain Jones. He and his crew had no interest in the 
Pilgrims other than a commercial one. During all their association 
with him, he had treated them shabbily, although they gained his 
admiration in the end. 



THE SAILING OF THE MAYFLOWER 35 

He too was eager to go, and thus put an end to his anguish, 

Thinking to fly from despair, that swifter than keel is or 
canvas, 

Thinking to drown in the sea the ghost that would rise and 
pursue him. 

But as he gazed on the crowd, he beheld the form of Priscilla 

Standing dejected among them, unconscious of all that was 
passing. 565 

Fixed were her eyes upon his, as if she divined his intention, 

Fixed with a look so sad, so reproachful, imploring, and 
patient, 

That with a sudden revulsion his heart recoiled from its 
purpose. 

As from the verge of a crag, where one step more is destruc- 
tion. 

Strange is the heart of man, with its quick, mysterious 
instincts! 570 \ 

Strange is the life of man, and fatal or fated are moments, ) 

Whereupon turn, as on hinges, the gates of the wall adaman-^ 
tine ! 

''Here I remain!" he exclaimed, as he looked at the heavens 
above him. 

Thanking the Lord whose breath had scattered the mist and 
the madness. 

Wherein, blind and lost, to death he was staggering head- 
long. 575 

"Yonder snow-white cloud, that floats in the ether above 
me. 

Seems like a hand that is pointing and beckoning over the 
ocean. 

There is another hand, that is not so spectral and ghost-like, 

Holding me, drawing me back, and clasping mine for pro- 
tection. 

Float, O hand of cloud, and vanish away in the ether! 58o 



36 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Roll thyself up like a fist, to threaten and daunt me ; I heed 
not 

Either your warning or menace, or any omen of evil! 

There is no land so sacred, no air so pure and so whole- 
some. 

As is the air she breathes, and the soil that is pressed by her 
footsteps. 

Here for her sake will I stay, and like an invisible pres- 
ence 585 

Hover around her forever, protecting, supporting her weak- 
ness; 

Yes! as my foot was the first that stepped on this rock at 
the landing, 

So, with the blessing of God, shall it be the last at the leav- 
ing!" 

Meanwhile the Master alert, but with dignified air and 

important, 
Scanning with watchful eye the tide and the wind and the 

weather, 590 

Walked about on the sands, and the people crowded around 

him 
Saying a few last words, and enforcing his careful remem- 
brance. 
Then, taking each by the hand, as if he were grasping a 

tiller, 
Into the boat he sprang, and in haste shoved off to his 

vessel, 
Glad in his heart to get rid of all this worry and flurry, 595 
Glad to be gone from a land of sand and sickness and 

sorrow. 
Short allowance of victual, and plenty of nothing but Gospel ! 
Lost in the sound of the oars was the last farewell of the 

Pilgrims. 



THE SAILING OF THE MAYFLOWER 37 

O strong hearts and true! not one went back in the May- 
flower! 

No, not one looked back, who had set his hand to this 
ploughing! ^ 6oo 

Soon were heard on board the shouts and songs of the 
sailors 

Heaving the windlass round, and hoisting the ponderous 
anchor. 

Then the yards were braced, and all sails set to the west- 
wind, 

Blowing steady and strong ; and the Mayflower sailed from 
the harbor, 

Rounded the point of the Gurnet, and leaving far to the 
southward 605 

Island and cape of sand, and the Field of the First En- 
counter,^ 

Took the wind on her quarter, and stood for the open 
Atlantic, 

Borne on the send of the sea, and the swelling hearts of the 
Pilgrims. 

Long in silence they watched the receding sail of the 
vessel, 

Much endeared to them all, as something living and hu- 
man ; 610 

Then, as if filled with the spirit, and wrapt in a vision pro- 
phetic, 

* Compare Luke, ix. 62. 

* Before making their final landing the Pilgrims anchored off Cape 
Cod until they could find a suitable place to start the settlement. 
While on this search, a party of men had their first skirmish with the 
Indians. 



38 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Baring his hoary head, the excellent Elder of Plymouth 
Said, "Let us pray!" and they prayed, and thanked the 

Lord and took courage.^ 
Mournfully sobbed the waves at the base of the rock, and 

above them 
Bowed and whispered the wheat on the hill of death, and 

their kindred eis 

Seemed to awake in their graves, and to join in the prayer 

that they uttered. 
Sun-illumined and white, on the eastern verge of the ocean 
Gleamed the departing sail, like a marble slab in a grave- 
yard; 
Buried beneath it lay forever all hope of escaping. 
Lo! as they turned to depart, they saw the form of an 

Indian, 620 

Watching them from the hill; but while they spake with 

each other, 
Pointing with outstretched hands, and saying, "Look!" 

he had vanished. 
So they returned to their homes ; but Alden lingered a little, 
Musing alone on the shore, and watching the wash of the 

billows 
Round the base of the rock, and the sparkle and flash of the 

sunshine, 625 

Like the spirit of God, moving visibly over the waters.^ 



VI 

PRISCILLA 

Thus for a while he stood, and mused by the shore of the 

ocean. 
Thinking of many things, and most of all of Priscilla ; 
^ Compare Acts, xxviii. 15. * Compaxe Genesis, i. 2. 



PRISCILLA 39 

And as if thought had the power to draw to itself, like the 

loadstone, 
Whatsoever it touches, by subtile laws of its nature, 630 

Lo! as he turned to depart, Priscilla was standing beside him. 

"Are you so much offended, you will not speak to me?" 

said she. 
"Am I so much to blame, that yesterday, when you were 

pleading 
Warmly the cause of another, my heart, impulsive and 

wayward. 
Pleaded your own, and spake out, forgetful perhaps of 

decorum? 635 

Certamly you can forgive me for speaking so frankly, for 

saying 
What I ought not to have said, yet now I can never unsay 

it; 
For there are moments in life, when the heart is so full of 

emotion. 
That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble 
Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, 640 
Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered to- 
gether. 
Yesterday I was shocked, when I heard you speak of Miles 

Standish, 
Praising his virtues, transforming his very defects into 

virtues. 
Praising his courage and strength, and even his fighting in 

Flanders, 
As if by fighting alone you could win the heart of a 

woman, 645 

Quite overlooking yourself and the rest, in exalting your 

hero. 
Therefore I spake as I did, by an irresistible impulse. 



40 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

You will forgive me, I hope, for the sake of the friendship 

between us, 
Which is too true and too sacred to be so easily broken!" 
Thereupon answered John Alden, the scholar, the friend of 

Miles Standish: eso 

"I was not angry with you, with myself alone I was 

angry. 
Seeing how badly I managed the matter I had in my keep- 
ing." 
"No!" interrupted the maiden, with answer prompt and 

decisive ; 
"No; you were angry with me, for speaking so frankly and 

freely. 
It was wrong, I acknowledge; for it is the fate of a 

woman 655 

Long to be patient and silent, to wait like a ghost that is 

speechless, 
Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its silence. 
Hence is the inner life of so many suffering women 
Sunless and silent and deep, like subterranean rivers 
Running through caverns of darkness, unheard, unseen, 

and unfruitful, 660 

Chafing their channels of stone, with endless and profitless 

murmurs." 
Thereupon answered John Alden, the young man, the lover 

of women : 
"Heaven forbid it, Priscilla; and truly they seem to me 

always 
More like the beautiful rivers that watered the garden of 

Eden, 
More like the river Euphrates, through deserts of Havilah 

flowing, 665 

Filling the land with delight, and memories sweet of the 
garden!" 



PRISCILLA 41 

"Ah, by these words, I can see," again interrupted the 

maiden, 
"How very little you prize me, or care for what I am saying. 
When from the depths of my heart, in pain and with secret 

misgiving, 
Frankly I speak to you, asking for sympathy only and 

kindness, 67o 

Straightway you take up my words, that are plain and 

direct and in earnest, 
Turn them away from their meaning, and answer with 

flattering phrases. 
This is not right, is not just, is not true to the best that is 

myou; 
For I know and esteem you, and feel that your nature is 

noble. 
Lifting mine up to a higher, a more ethereal level. 675 

Therefore I value your friendship, and feel it perhaps the 

more keenly 
If you say aught that implies I am only as one among 

many. 
If you make use of those common and complimentary phrases 
Most men think so fine, in dealing and speaking with women. 
But which women reject as insipid, if not as insulting." eso 

Mute and amazed was Alden ; and listened and looked at 

Priscilla, 
Thinking he never had seen her more fair, more divine in 

her beauty. 
He who but yesterday pleaded so glibly the cause of another. 
Stood there embarrassed and silent, and seeking in vain for 

an answer. 
So the maiden went on, and little divined or imagined ess 
What was at work in his heart, that made him so awkward 

and speechless. 



42 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

"Let us, then, be what we are, and speak what we think, 

and in all things 
\Keep ourselves loyal to truth, and the sacred professions of 

friendship. 
It is no secret I tell you, nor am I ashamed to declare it : 
I have liked to be with you, to see you, to speak with you 

always. 690 

So I was hurt at your words, and a little affronted to hear 

you 
Urge me to marry your friend, though he were the Captain 

Miles Standish. 
For I must tell you the truth: much more to me is your 

friendship 
Than all the love he could give, were he twice the hero you 

think him." 
Then she extended her hand, and Alden, who eagerly 

grasped it, 695 

Felt all the wounds in his heart, that were aching and bleed- 
ing so sorely, 
Healed by the touch of that hand, and he said, with a voice 

full of feeling : 
"Yes, we must ever be friends; and of all who offer you 

friendship 
Let me be ever the first, the truest, the nearest and dearest ! " 

Casting a farewell look at the glimmering sail of the 

Mayflower 700 

Distant, but still in sight, and sinking below the horizon, 
Homeward together they walked, with a strange, indefinite 

feeling, 
That all the rest had departed and left them alone in the 

desert. 
But, as they went through the fields in the blessing and 

smile of the sunshine, 



PRISCILLA 43 

Lighter grew their hearts, and Priscilla said very archly : 705 
"Now that our terrible Captain has gone in pursuit of the 

Indians, 
Where he is happier far than he would be commanding a 

household, 
You may speak boldly, and tell me of all that happened 

between you, 
When you returned last night, and said how ungrateful you 

found me." 
Thereupon answered John Alden, and told her the whole of 

the story, — 710 

Told her his own despair, and the direful wrath of Miles 

Standish. 
Whereat the maiden smiled, and said between laughing and 

earnest, 
"He is a little chimney, and heated hot in a moment!" 
But as he gently rebuked her, and told her how he had 

suffered, — 
How he had even determined to sail that day in the May- 
flower, 713 
And had remained for her sake, on hearing the dangers that 

threatened, — 
All her manner was changed, and she said with a faltering 

accent, 
"Truly I thank you for this: how good you have been to 

me always!" 

Thus, as a pilgrim devout, who toward Jerusalem journeys,^ 
Taking three steps in advance, and one reluctantly back- 
ward, 720 

* During the Middle Ages, pilgrims went to the Holy Land to visit 
the sacred places. They practised the greatest austerity on the journey. 
Kings and noblemen assumed the rough gown of the pilgrim, and 
traveled in poverty and humility. 



44 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Urged by importunate zeal, and withheld by pangs of con- 
trition ; 

Slowly but steadily onward, receding yet ever advancing, 

Journeyed this Puritan youth to the Holy Land of his long- 
ings, 

Urged by the fervor of love, and withheld by remorseful 
misgivings. 



VII 

THE MARCH OF MILES STANDISH 

Meanwhile the stalwart Miles Standish was marching 
steadily northward, 725 

Winding through forest and swamp, and along the trend of 
the sea-shore. 

All day long, with hardly a halt, the fire of his anger 

Burning and crackling within, and the sulphurous odor of 
powder 

Seeming more sweet to his nostrils than all the scents of the 
forest. 

Silent and moody he went, and much he revolved his dis- 
comfort; 730 

He who was used to success, and to easy victories always. 

Thus to be flouted, rejected, and laughed to scorn by a 
maiden. 

Thus to be mocked and betrayed by the friend whom most 
he had trusted! 

Ah! 'twas too much to be borne, and he fretted and chafed 
in his armor! 

"I alone am to blame," he muttered, "for mine was the 
folly. 735 



THE MARCH OF MILES STANDISH 45 

What has a rough old soldier, grown grim and gray in the 

harness/ 
Used to the camp and its ways, to do with the wooing of 

maidens? 
'Twas but a dream, — let it pass, — let it vanish like so 

many others! 
What I thought was a flower, is only a weed, and is worthless; 
Out of my heart will I pluck it, and throw it away, and 

henceforward 740 

Be but a fighter of battles, a lover and wooer of dangers." 
Thus he revolved in his mind his sorry defeat and discomfort. 
While he was marching by day or lying at night in the forest, 
Looking up at the trees and the constellations beyond them. 

After a three days' march he came to an Indian encamp- 
ment 745 

Pitched on the edge of a meadow, between the sea and the 
forest ; 

Women at work by the tents, and warriors, horrid with 
war-paint. 

Seated about a fire, and smoking and talking together; 

Who, when they saw from afar the sudden approach of the 
white men, 

Saw the flash of the sun on breastplate and sabre and mus- 
ket, 750 

Straightway leaped to their feet, and two, from among them 
advancing, 

Came to parley with Standish, and offer him furs as a 
present ; 

Friendship was in their looks, but in their hearts there was 
hatred. 

Braves of the tribe were these, and brothers, gigantic in 
stature, 

* Grown gray in the tasks of war. 



46 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Huge as Goliath of Gath, or the terrible Og, king of 

Bashan ; 755 

One was Pecksuot named, and the other was called Wat- 

tawamat. 
Round their necks were suspended their knives in scabbards 

of wampum, 
""Two-edged, trenchant knives, with points as sharp as a 

needle. 
Other arms had they none, for they were cunning and crafty. 
"Welcome, English!" they said, — these words they had 

learned from the traders 760 

Touching at times on the coast, to barter and chaffer for 

peltries. 
Then in their native tongue they began to parley with 

Standish, 
Through his guide and interpreter, Hobomok, friend of the 

white man. 
Begging for blankets and knives, but mostly for muskets 

and powder, 
Kept by the white man, they said, concealed, with the 

plague, in his cellars, 765 

Ready to be let loose, and destroy his brother the red man! 
But when Standish refused, and said he would give them 

the Bible, 
Suddenly changing their tone, they began to boast and to 

bluster. 
Then Wattawamat advanced with a stride in front of the 

other, 
And, with a lofty demeanor, thus vaimtingly spake to the 

Captain : 770 

"Now Wattawamat can see, by the fiery eyes of the Captain, 
Angry is he in his heart ; but the heart of the brave Watta- 
wamat 
Is not afraid at the sight. He was not born of a woman, 



THE MARCH OF MILES STANDISH 47 

But on a mountain, at night, from an oak-tree riven by 

lightning, 
Forth he sprang at a bound, with all his weapons about 

him, 775 

Shouting, 'Who is there here to fight with the brave Wat- 

ta warn at? ' " 
Then he unsheathed his knife, and, whetting the blade on 

his left hand. 
Held it aloft and displayed a woman's face on the handle, 
Saying, with bitter expression and look of sinister meaning: 
"I have another at home, with the face of a man on the 

handle ; 780 

By and by they shall marry; and there will be plenty of 

children!" ' 

Then stood Pecksuot forth, self- vaunting, insulting Miles 
Standish ; 

While with his fingers he patted the knife that hung at his 
bosom. 

Drawing it half from its sheath, and plunging it back, as he 
muttered, 

"By and by it shall see; it shall eat; ah, ha! but shall 
speak not! 785 

This is the mighty Captain the white men have sent to de- 
stroy us ! 

He is a little man;^ let him go and work with the women!" 

Meanwhile Standish had noted the faces and figures of 
Indians 
Peeping and creeping about from bush to tree in the forest, 

* The foundation of this incident is a very prosaic account by Wins- 
low. The action has been embelhshed almost beyond recognition. 

* The Indians called Miles Standish the "Little White Captain." 



48 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Feigning to look for game, with arrows set on their bow- 
strings, 790 

Drawing about him still closer and closer the net of their 
ambush. 

But undaunted he stood, and dissembled and treated them 
smoothly ; 

So the old chronicles say, that were writ in the days of the 
fathers.^ 

But when he heard their defiance, the boast, the taunt and 
the insult, 

All the hot blood of his race, of Sir Hugh and of Thurston 
de Standish, 795 

Boiled and beat in his heart, and swelled in the veins of his 
temples. 

Headlong he leaped on the boaster, and, snatching his 
knife from its scabbard. 

Plunged it into his heart, and, reeling backward, the savage 

Fell with his face to the sky, and a fiendlike fierceness upon 
it. 

Straight there arose from the forest the awful sound of the 
war-whoop, 800 

And, like a flurry of snow on the whistling wind of Decem- 
ber, 

Swift and sudden and keen came a flight of feathery arrows. 

Then came a cloud of smoke, and out of the cloud came the 
lightning. 

Out of the lightning thunder; and death unseen ran before 
it. 

Frightened the savages fled for shelter in swamp and in 
thicket, 805 

Hotly pursued and beset; but their sachem, the brave 
Wattawamat, 

^ The Pilgrims who came to America in the Mayflower are often re- 
ferred to as the Pilgrim Fathers. 



THE MARCH OF MILES STANDISH 49 

Fled not ; he was dead. Unswerving and swift had a bullet 
Passed through his brain, and he fell with both hands clutch- 
ing the greensward, 
Seeming in death to hold back from his foe the land of his 
fathers. 

There on the flowers of the meadow the warriors lay, and 

above them, sio 

Silent, with folded arms, stood Hobomok, friend of the 

white man. 
Smiling at length he exclaimed to the stalwart Captain of 

Plymouth : 
"Pecksuot bragged very loud, of his courage, his strength 

and his stature, — 
Mocked the great Captain, and called him a little man; 

but I see now 
Big enough have you been to lay him speechless before 

you!" 815 

Thus the first battle was fought and won by the stalwart 

Miles Standish. 
When the tidings thereof were brought to the village of 

Plymouth, 
And as a trophy of war the head of the brave Wattawamat 
Scowled from the roof ^ of the fort, which at once was a 

church and a fortress,^ 

' On the Tower of London and other pubUc places in England, the 
heads of traitors and other malefactors were frequently exposed as a 
warning. 

* This fort was not built until the summer of 1622. "it was 
strong and comely, made with a flat roof and battlements, on which 
their ordnance were mounted, ... It served them also for a meet- 
ing-house, and was fitted accordingly for that use." — Bradford's 
History of Plymouth Plantation. 



50 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

All who beheld it rejoiced, and praised the Lord, and took 

courage. 820 

Only Priscilla averted her face from this spectre of terror, 
Thanking God in her heart that she had not married Miles 

Standish ; 
Shrinking, fearing almost, lest, coming home from his 

battles, 
He should lay claim to her hand, as the prize and reward 

of his valor. 



VIII 

THE SPINNING-WHEEL 

Month after month passed away, and in autumn ^ the ships 
of the merchants 825 

Came with kindred and friends, with cattle and corn for the 
Pilgrims. 

All in the village was peace; the men were intent on their 
labors. 

Busy with hewing and building, with garden-plot and with 
merestead,^ 

Busy with breaking the glebe, and mowing the grass in the 
meadows. 

Searching the sea for its fish, and hunting the deer in the 
forest. 830 

All in the village was peace ; but at times the rumor of war- 
fare 

Filled the air with alarm, and the apprehension of danger. 

^ In reality the ships did not arrive until about two years later. 

* Each householder fenced in and cultivated the tract of land sur- 
rounding his home. This enclosed piece of land, with the home and its 
adjacent farm buildings, was called a merestead, from the Old English 
mere, meaning boundary, and stead, meaning place. 



THE SPINNING-WHEEL 51 

Bravely the stalwart Standish was scouring the land with 

his forces, 
Waxing valiant in fight and defeating the alien armies, 
Till his name had become a sound of fear to the nations. 835 
Anger was still in his heart, but at times the remorse and 

contrition 
Which in all noble natures succeed the passionate outbreak, 
Came like a rising tide, that encounters the rush of a river, 
Staying its current awhile, but making it bitter and brackish. 

Meanwhile Alden at home had built him a new habita- 
tion,^ 840 

Solid, substantial, of timber rough-hewn from the firs of the 
forest. 

Wooden-barred was the door, and the roof was covered with 
rushes ; 

Latticed the windows were, and the window-panes were of 
paper, 

Oiled to admit the light, while wind and rain were excluded. 

There too he dug a well, and around it planted an 
orchard : 845 

Still may be seen to this day some trace of the well and the 
orchard. 

Close to the house was the stall, where, safe and secure from 
annoyance, 

Raghorn, the snow-white bull, that had fallen to Alden's 
allotment 

In the division of cattle, might ruminate in the nighttime 

Over the pastures he cropped, made fragrant by sweet 
pennyroyal. 8so 

* This house was at Duxbury. Many of the first settlers built their 
permanent homes a short distance from the village of Plymouth. Miles 
Standish founded Duxbury and named it for his old home in England. 



52 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Oft when his labor was finished, with eager feet would the 

dreamer 
Follow the pathway that ran through the woods to the house 

of Priscilla, 
Led by illusions romantic and subtile deceptions of fancy, 
Pleasure disguised as duty, and love in the semblance of 

friendship. 
Ever of her he thought, when he fashioned the walls of his 

dwelling ; 855 

Ever of her he thought, when he delved in the soil of his 

garden ; 
Ever of her he thought, when he read in his Bible on Sunday 
Praise of the virtuous woman, as she is described in the 

Proverbs, — 
How the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her 

always. 
How all the days of her life she will do him good, and not 

evil, 860 

How she seeketh the wool and the flax and worketh with 

gladness. 
How she layeth her hand to the spindle and holdeth the 

distaff, 
How she is not afraid of the snow for herself or her house- 
hold. 
Knowing her household are clothed with the scarlet cloth of 

her weaving! 

So as she sat at her wheel one afternoon in the Autumn, ses 
Alden, who opposite sat, and was watching her dexterous 

fingers. 
As if the thread she was spinning were that of his life and 

his fortune. 
After a pause in their talk, thus spake to the sound of the 

spindle. 



THE SPINNING-WHEEL 53 

"Truly, Priscilla," he said, "when I see you spinning and 

spinning, 
Never idle a moment, but thrifty and thoughtful of 

others, 87o 

Suddenly you are transformed, are visibly changed in a 

moment ; 
You are no longer Priscilla, but Bertha the Beautiful Spin- 
ner." 
Here the light foot on the treadle grew swifter and swifter; 

the spindle 
Uttered an angry snarl, and the thread snapped short in her 

fingers ; 
While the impetuous speaker, not heeding the mischief, 

continued : 875 

"You are the beautiful Bertha, the spinner, the queen of 

Helvetia; 
She whose story I read at a stall * in the streets of South- 
ampton, 
Who, as she rode on her palfrey, o'er valley and meadow and 

mountain, 
Ever was spinning her thread from a distaff fixed to her 

saddle. 
She was so thrifty and good, that her name passed into a 

proverb. sso 

So shall it be with your own, when the spinning-wheel shall 

no longer 
Hum in the house of the farmer, and fill its chambers with 

music. 
Then shall the mothers, reproving, relate how it was in their 

childhood. 
Praising the good old times, and the days of Priscilla the 

spinner!" 

^ The Enelish use the word stall as we use the word stand (news- 
stand). 



54 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Straight uprose from her wheel the beautiful Puritan 
maiden, 885 

Pleased with the praise of her thrift from him whose praise 
was the sweetest, 

Drew from the reel on the table a snowy skein of her spin- 
ning, 

Thus making answer, meanwhile, to the flattering phrases 
of Alden : 

" Come, you must not be idle ; if I am a pattern for house- 
wives, 

Show yourself equally worthy of being the model of 
husbands. soo 

Hold this skein on your hands, while I wind it, ready for 
knitting ; 

Then who knows but hereafter, when fashions have changed 
and the manners, 

Fathers may talk to their sons of the good old times of John 
Alden!" 

Thus, with a jest and a laugh, the skein on his hands she 
adjusted, 

He sitting awkwardly there, with his arms extended before 
him, 895 

She standing graceful, erect, and winding the thread from 
his fingers. 

Sometimes chiding a little his clumsy manner of holding. 

Sometimes touching his hands, as she disentangled expertly 

Twist or knot in the yarn, unawares — for how could she 
help it? — 

Sending electrical thrills through every nerve in his body. 9oo 

Lo! in the midst of this scene, a breathless messenger 
entered. 
Bringing in hurry and heat the terrible news from the vil- 
lage. 



THE SPINNING-WHEEL 55 

Yes ; Miles Standish was dead ! — an Indian had brought 
them the tidings, — 

Slain by a poisoned arrow, shot down in the front of the 
battle. 

Into an ambush beguiled, cut off with the whole of his 
forces ; 905 

All the town would be burned, and all the people be mur- 
dered! 

Such were the tidings of evil that burst on the hearts of the 
hearers. 

Silent and statue-like stood Priscilla, her face looking back- 
ward 

Still at the face of the speaker, her arms uplifted in horror ; 

But John Alden, upstarting, as if the barb of the arrow 910 

Piercing the heart of his friend had struck his own, and had 
sundered 

Once and forever the bonds that held him bound as a cap- 
tive. 

Wild with excess of sensation, the awful delight of his free- 
dom, 

Mingled with pain and regret, unconscious of what he was 
doing, 

Clasped, almost with a groan, the motionless form of Pris- 
cilla, 915 

Pressing her close to his heart, as forever his own, and 
exclaiming : 

"Those whom the Lord hath united, let no man put them 
asunder!" 

Even as rivulets twain, from distant and separate sources, 
Seeing each other afar, as they leap from the rocks, and 

pursuing 
Each one its devious path, but drawing nearer and nearer, 920 
Rush together at last, at their trysting-place in the forest; 



56 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

So these lives that had run thus far in separate channels, 
Coming in sight of each other, then swerving and flowing 

asunder. 
Parted by barriers strong, but drawing nearer and nearer, 
Rushed together at last, and one was lost in the other. 925 



IX 

THE WEDDING-DAT 

Forth from the curtain of clouds, from the tent of purple 
and scarlet, 

Issued the sun, the great High-Priest, in his garments 
resplendent. 

Holiness unto the Lord, in letters of light, on his fore- 
head. 

Round the hem of his robe the golden bells and pomegranates. 

Blessing the world he came, and the bars of vapor beneath 
him 930 

Gleamed like a grate of brass, and the sea at his feet was a 
laver! 

This was the wedding morn of Priscilla the Puritan maiden. 
Friends were assembled together ; the Elder and Magistrate 

also 
Graced the scene with their presence, and stood like the Law 

and the Gospel, 
One with the sanction of earth and one with the blessing of 

heaven. 935 

Simple and brief was the wedding, as that of Ruth and of 

Boaz. 
Softly the youth and the maiden repeated the words of 

betrothal. 



THE WEDDING-DAY 67 

Taking each other for husband and wife in the Magistrate's 
presence/ 

After the Puritan way, and the laudable custom of Hol- 
land. 

Fervently then and devoutly, the excellent Elder of Plym- 
outh 940 

Prayed for the hearth and the home, that were founded that 
day in affection, 

Speaking of life and of death, and imploring Divine bene- 
dictions. 

Lo! when the service was ended, a form appeared on the 
threshold, 

Clad in armor of steel, a sombre and sorrowful figure! 

Why does the bridegroom start and stare at the strange 
apparition? 945 

Why does the bride turn pale, and hide her face on his 
shoulder? 

Is it a phantom of air, — a bodiless, spectral illusion? 

Is it a ghost from the grave, that has come to forbid the 
betrothal? 

Long had it stood there unseen, a guest uninvited, unwel- 
comed ; 

Over its clouded eyes there had passed at times an expres- 
sion 950 

Softening the gloom and revealing the warm heart hidden 
beneath them. 

As when across the sky the driving rack of the rain cloud 

Grows for a moment thin, and betrays the sun by its bright- 
ness. 

^ They were married in the magistrate's presence so that there could 
be no dispute on the question of inheritance. Bradford's Journal con- 
tains the record of their marriage. 



58 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Once it had lifted its hand, and moved its lips, but was 

silent, 
As if an iron will had mastered the fleeting intention. 955 
But when were ended the troth and the prayer and the last 

benediction, 
Into the room it strode, and the people beheld with amaze- 
ment 
Bodily there in his armor Miles Standish, the Captain of 

Plymouth! 
Grasping the bridegroom's hand, he said with emotion, 

"Forgive me! 
I have been angry and hurt, — too long have I cherished the 

feeling ; 96o 

I have been cruel and hard, but now, thank God ! it is ended. 
Mine is the same hot blood that leaped in the veins of Hugh 

Standish, 
Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for error. 
Never so much as now was Miles Standish the friend of 

John Alden." ' 
Thereupon answered the bridegroom: "Let all be forgotten 

between us, — 965 

All save the dear old friendship, and that shall grow older 

and dearer!" 
Then the Captain advanced, and, bowing, saluted Priscilla, 
Gravely, and after the manner of old-fashioned gentry in 

England, 
Something of camp and of court, of town and of country, 

commingled, 
Wishing her joy of her wedding, and loudly lauding her 

husband. 970 

Then he said with a smile : "I should have remembered the 

adage, — 

^ Miles Standish married not long after, and the two families were 
neighbors in Dxixbury. 



THE WEDDING-DAY 59 

If you would be well served, you must serve yourself; and 
moreover, 

No man can gather cherries in Kent at the season of Christ- 
mas!" 

Great was the people's amazement, and greater yet their 

rejoicing, 
Thus to behold once more the sunburnt face of their Cap- 
tain, 975 
Whom they had mourned as dead; and they gathered and 

crowded about him. 
Eager to see him and hear him, forgetful of bride and of 

bridegroom. 
Questioning, answering, laughing, and each interrupting the 

other, 
Till the good Captain declared, being quite overpowered 

and bewildered. 
He had rather by far break into an Indian encampment, oso 
Than come again to a wedding to which he had not been 

invited. 

Meanwhile the bridegroom went forth and stood with 
the bride at the doorway. 

Breathing the perfumed air of that warm and beautiful 
morning. 

Touched with autumnal tints, but lonely and sad in the 
sunshine. 

Lay extended before them the land of toil and priva- 
tion ; 9S5 

There were the graves of the dead, and the barren waste of 
the sea-shore, 

There the famihar fields, the groves of pine, and the mead- 
ows: 



60 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

But to their eyes transfigured, it seemed as the Garden of 

Eden, 
Filled with the presence of God, whose voice was the sound 

of the ocean. 

Soon was their vision disturbed by the noise and stir of 

departure, 990 

Friends coming forth from the house, and impatient of 

longer delaying, 
Each with his plan for the day, and the work that was left 

uncompleted. 
Then from a stall near at hand, amid exclamations of wonder, 
Alden the thoughtful, the careful, so happy, so proud of 

Priscilla, 
Brought out his snow-white bull, obeying the hand of its 

master, 995 

Led by a cord that was tied to an iron ring in its nostrils, 
Covered with crimson cloth, and a cushion placed for a 

saddle. 
She should not walk, he said, through the dust and heat of 

the noonday ; 
Nay, she should ride like a queen, not plod along like a 

peasant. 
Somewhat alarmed at first, but reassured by the others, 1000 
Placing her hand on the cushion, her foot in the hand of her 

husband, 
Gayly, with joyous laugh, Priscilla mounted her palfrey. 
"Nothing is wanting now," he said with a smile, "but the 

distaff; 
Then you would be in truth my queen, my beautiful Bertha ! " 

Onward the bridal procession now moved to their new 

habitation, 1005 

Happy husband and wife, and friends conversing together. 



THE WEDDING-DAY 61 

Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the ford in 

the forest, 
Pleased with the image that passed, like a dream of love 

through its bosom, 
Tremulous, floating in air, o'er the depths of the azure 

abysses. 
Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring his 

splendors, loio 

Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above them 

suspended, 
Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the pine 

and the fir-tree. 
Wild and sweet as the clusters that grew in the valley of 

Eshcol.i 
Like a picture it seemed of the primitive, pastoral ages,^ 
Fresh with the youth of the world, and recalling Rebecca 

and Isaac,^ lois 

Old and yet ever new, and simple and beautiful always, 
Love immortal and young in the endless succession of 

lovers. 
So through the Plymouth woods passed onward the bridal 

procession. 

1 Compare Numbers, xiii. 23 and 24. According to the Bible story, 
Moses sent spies to view the Promised Land (Canaan) and bring back 
an account of it. From a grapevine near a brook, they cut off a branch 
bearing a cluster of grapes so enormous that two men carried it on a 
staff. They named the brook Eshcol, a Hebrew word meaning cluster 
of grapes. 

* In early times, people Uved more in the open. Their flocks and 
herds were their Uvelihood, and many used tents instead of houses. 

3 The story of Rebecca and Isaac is related in the twenty-fourth 
chapter of Genesis. 



TWENTY SPECIAL LESSONS 



TWENTY SPECIAL LESSONS 

Historical information — Quotations from Historical Som*ces — 
Comments — Words to be Defined — Phrases to be Explained — 
Excerpts for Scansion — Figures of Speech to be Interpreted — 
Questions forming a Study of the Poem — Excerpts to be 

Memorized 



TWENTY SPECIAL LESSONS 

LESSON 1 
Comments 

The Courtship of Miles Standish was published in 1858. 
Longfellow was then fifty-one years of age, and at the best 
of his literary power. 

A pilgrim is one who travels, usually on a religious 
errand. The Pilgrims in our story were the one hundred 
and two religious pioneers who came to America in the 
Mayflower. 

Topics for Conversation 

1. Longfellow — his life and works. 

2. The poem — in what year written — at what part of 

the poet's career. 

3. Form of the poem — dramatic, lyric, or narrative. See 

if you can still further classify it. How many forms 
of narrative poem do you know? Name two cele- 
brated narrative poems and give the author of each. 

4. "What constitutes a plot? Is there a plot in The Court- 

ship? 

5. The climax of a story is usually the turning-point of the 

plot. In which chapter of The Courtship is the climax 
reached? 

6. The denouement is the unraveling of the plot. What is 

the denouement in The Courtship? 

7. What do we call the ending of a tragedy? Is it a happy 

ending? 



66 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Questions 

1. What was the native land of the Pilgrims? Why did 

they leave it? 

2. Why was Holland selected for their home? Why did 

they not remain in Holland? 

3. How did they obtain funds for their undertaking? What 

were some of the disadvantages of their bargain? 
How were they finally freed from the burden? 

4. Are the persons named in the poem fictitious or historic? 

Where can you read some facts about them? 

5. What resources in or near the colony could they have 

developed had they had the means? 

6. Are all Puritans pilgrims f Distinguish between the 

Puritans and the Pilgrims, 

7. Why were the Pilgrims crowded on to one vessel? 

8. Who was their pastor? Why did he not cross the ocean 

with them? 

9. How long did it take them to come from Plymouth in 

England to Plymouth in America? How long does 
it take at the present time? 
10. Sketch the character of the Pilgrims. 

To be Memorized 

The breaking waves dashed high, 

On a stern and rock-bound coast, 
And the woods against a stormy sky 

Their giant branches tossed; 

And the heavy night hung dark, 

The hills and waters o'er, 
When a band of exiles moored their bark 

On the wild New England shore. 

From The Landing of the Pilgrims by Felicia Hemans. 



TWENTY LESSONS 67 

LESSON 2 

Lines 1-10 

Historical 

The Puritans lived an austere life. They followed their 
rehgious principles strictly, and allowed no form of gayety. 

" Sober and earnest was life to them, 
They only stopped to pray." 

The women wore no frills. A perfectly plain dress, a large, 
snowy kerchief arranged shawlwise over the shoulders, and 
a white cap made up their costume. 





To be Defined 




to and fro 


hose behold 


inscribed 


primitive 


strode array 


mystical 


clad 


martial cutlass 


fowling-piece 


doublet 


ever and anon corselet 


matchlock 



To be Explained 

buried in thought mystical Arabic sentence 

trusty sword of Damascus 

To be Scanned 

Scan any one of the lines from the passage to be com- 
mitted to memory. 

Figure of Speech 

Find a simile in one of Longfellow's poems other than 
The Courtship. 

Questions 

L What was the Old Colony? 

2. Why did the Pilgrims settle so far from their original 
destination? Sketch rapidly the coast from Maine 



68 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

to New Jersey and with a cross (x) indicate the 
actual and the intended destination of the Pilgrims. 

3. Describe the costume of a man in the early part of the 

seventeenth century. 

4. How did Miles Standish come to be the Puritan Captain ? 

5. Why did Miles Standish pause to gaze on his weapons? 

6. Give a description of the sword of Miles Standish. 

7. Name the weapons of Miles Standish, and tell the use 

of each. 

8. What difficulties might be encountered in the use of a 

matchlock? 

9. What was the Compact signed in the cabin of the 

Mayflower? How many signers were there? 
10. Write a paragraph of not more than three hundred 
words describing the village of Plymouth and its 
surroundings; or make a topical outline for a para- 
graph on this subject. 

Memorize Lines 1-10 
In the Old Colony days 



and matchlock. 



LESSON 3 

Lines 11-20 

Historical 

The Indians called Miles Standish the "Little Captain." 

John Alden "was hired for a cooper at Southampton, where 
the ship [Mayflower] victualled, and being a hopeful young 
man, was much desired, but left to his own liking to go or 
stay when he came here [to Plymouth, that is], but he 
stayed and married here." — Bradford's History of Plymouth 
Plantation. 



TWENTY LESSONS 69 

John Alden was twenty-one years of age when he came 
over in the Mayflower. He served as magistrate for more 
than fifty years. 

The Mayflower was a ship of 180 tons burden. 

The Pilgrims grouped themselves into nineteen house- 
holds, thus reducing the necessary number of dwelling-houses. 
John Alden, not belonging with any family, lived with Miles 
Standish as his secretary. 

Some fair-haired, blue-eyed captives in a Roman slave- 
market attracted the attention of St. Gregory the Great. 
In answer to his inquiry as to their country, he was told 
that they were Angles from England. "Not Angles, but 
Angels," said he, "with such angel-like faces!" 

To be Defined 
Saxon thereof Angles 

To be Explained 

muscles and sinews of iron the dew of his youth 

flaked with patches of snow 

To be Scanned 

Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and house- 
hold companion, 

Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the 
window; 

Figure of Speech 
Find a simile and a metaphor between lines 11 and 20. 

Questions 

1. Change the description of Miles Standish from poetry 
into prose. Do the same with the description of 
John Alden. 



70 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

2. How old was John Alden at the time of this story? At 

what age did he die? 

3. How did it happen that John Alden was living with 

Miles Standish? 

4. How old was Miles Standish at this time? 

5. Can you think of any reason why Miles Standish's 

face was "brown as a nut"? 

6. Give some suppositions as to why he cast his lot with 

the Pilgrims. 

7. Were John Alden and Miles Standish congenial com- 

panions? Why? 

8. Of how many famous friendships have you heard in 

history or literature? (Jonathan and David; Damon 
and Pythias, etc.) 

9. Tell the story of St. Gregory and the captive Angles. 
10. Who was king in England at the time the Pilgrims 

came to America? What was the established religion 
in England? 

Memorize Lines 11-20 

Short of stature he was 



came in the Mayflower. 



LESSON 4 

Lines 21-67 

Historical 

We find the spelling Myles in old records. 

Eighteen shillings equals about four and one-half dollars; 
but at present the purchasing power of a shiUing is barely 
one-fourth as great as it was in those days. 

At first, the colony was not annoyed by the Indians, 



TWENTY LESSONS 71 

because a plague had lately destroyed almost every nearby 
tribe. 

To be Defined 
landscape intermingled scouts lest 

To be Explained 

Flemish morasses invincible army 

diet and pUlage 

" He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our 



weapon 



"... flashing conviction right into the hearts of the 
heathen." 

To be Scanned 

Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed on the 
landscape, 

Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the 
east-wind, 

Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the 
ocean, 

Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sun- 
shine. 

Figure of Speech 

Do you find a metaphor in the passage to be com- 
mitted to memory? If you do, write it. 

Questions 

1. Why was John Alden so busy with his letters? What 

was the hurry? 

2. Prove that the breastplate of Miles Standish was of 

good quality. 

3. What was a favorite maxim of Miles Standish? Find 

five synonyms for maxim. 



72 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

4. Did Miles Standish neglect his weapons? Why are 

soldiers in an arsenal required to take scrupulous care 
of the weapons? Who is the author of The Arsenal 
at Springfield? Read aloud the first stanza. 

5. Why did a smile dance in the eyes of Miles Standish as 

he told about his army? 

6. Why did the Pilgrims need an army? 

7. Tell some of the advantages of Plymouth as a place of 

settlement. 

8. Who was Rose Standish? Why did she rest in an un- 

marked grave? 

9. Why did the Indians send scouts to the settlement? 

Explain the feeling of the Indians towards settlers. 
10. When Miles Standish mused by the window, do you 
think the landscape affected his thoughts? Write 
a paragraph of about three hundred words following 
what might have been the trend of his thoughts. 

Memorize Lines 58-67 
Over his countenance 



and was thoughtful. 



LESSON 5 

Lines 68-145 

Historical 

By his contract, Captain Jones was obliged to remain ofT 
shore until the Pilgrims had settled. 

The winter of 1620-1621 was a mild one for the New Eng- 
land coast. Had it been severe, probably none of the 
colonists could have survived. 

''Of a hundred persons scarce fifty remain; the living 
scarce able to bury the dead; the well not sufficient to tend 



TWENTY LESSONS 73 

the sick, there being, in their time of greatest distress, but 
six or seven, who spare no pains to help them." — Bradford 
and Winslow's Journal in Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims. 

To be Defined 

oft covirageous desolate 

patient strong abandoned 

To be Explained 

Artillery practice, designed for belligerent Christians, 
won the day grounding his musket 

To be Scanned 

Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of Priscilla, 
Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Pris- 
ciUa! 

Figures of Speech 

To what are the thumb-marks on the margin of the leaf 
compared? Give the whole simile. 

Find an example of metaphor in one of Longfellow's poems 
other than The Courtship. 

Questions 

1. Give a reason for the partiality of Miles Standish for 

each of the three books mentioned. 

2. In which of his books could he read of the wars of the 

Hebrews? Did he often read the Commentaries f 
How do you know? 

3. Why did John Alden mention Priscilla's name so often 

in his letters? 

4. Why did the captain sigh as he read the marvellous words 

and achievements of Csesar? What are memoirs? 



74 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

5. Why did Csesar order forward the ensigns? 

6. Can a good friend soothe all our sadness? How had 

Miles Standish proved the fact? 

7. Why did the Mayflower remain so long in Plymouth 

harbor? 

8. How long was it before John Alden received an answer 

to his letters? Give a simple word for epistle. 

9. What made Priscilla attractive in the eyes of Miles 

Standish? 
10. Why did so many of the Pilgrims die during the first 
winter? Give the causes of death. 

Memorize Lines 138-145 
" Oft in my lonely hours . . . 



LESSON 6 

Lines 146-218 

Comments 

' Worshipping Astaroth blindly . . 



the other abandoned." 



and the swift retribution. 



John Alden thought that the Lord was punishing him 
for letting his affections fix themselves too strongly on the 
things of this world. 

In America, the Mayflower is the trailing arbutus. It is 
a vine bearing delicate pink and white blossoms, which 
bloom in the earliest spring, and which peep out from be- 
neath the fallen leaves. 

To be Defined 
ford brawled shallow type 



TWENTY LESSONS 75 

To be Explained 

a man not of words but of actions 
taciturn stripling mask his dismay 

To be Scanned 

" I can march up to a fortress and summon the place to sur- 
render, 
But march up to a woman with such a proposal, I dare not." 

Figures of Speech 

Between lines 145 and 219, find three similes and three 
metaphors. 

Questions 

1. Quote the lines telling that the proposal of Miles Stan- 

dish for Priscilla was not a sudden impulse. 

2. Form some conjectures as to why John Aldcn had not 

asked Priscilla to marry him. 

3. Was Miles Standish correct in his supposition that 

fine speeches would win Priscilla? Explain. 

4. Why was John Alden surprised, embarrassed, bewildered, 

at the words of Miles Standish? Give a reason for 
each feeling. 

5. What did Miles Standish mean when he said that they 

must use the maxim discreetly, and not waste powder 
for nothing? 

6. Was Miles Standish ever guilty of cowardice? 

7. In the conflict of thoughts in the mind of John Alden, 

tell what each emotion could say for itself: love to 
friendship, and friendship's reply; self to generous 
impulses, and the reply. 

8. Tell all that John Alden sacrificed when he agreed to 

go on the errand for Miles Standish. Find the lines. 

9. What is meant by a crisis? Do you see any crises in 

the lines between 145 and 219? 



76 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

10. What was the book most used by the Puritans? How 
did it affect their language? 

Memorize Lines 208-218 

So through the Plymouth woods 



of the giver. 



LESSON 7 

Lines 219-238 

Historical 

The Pilgrims lived in Holland for about ten years. 

The first wash-day in Plymouth colony was November 
13, 1620. The women left the Mayflower and went on 
shore to attend to the laundry. 

To be Defined 

beheld spindle anthem 

carded treadle solitude 

ravenous angular apparel 

To be Explained 

disk of the ocean ravenous spindle 

the wealth of her being 

To be Scanned 

Came to an open space, and saw the disk of the ocean, 
Sailless, sombre and cold with the comfortless breath of 
the east- wind; 

Figures of Speech 

In the simile in which the notes are compared to the stones 

in a wall overhung by a vine, what corresponds to the vine? 

Do you see any other simile in the lines to be memorized? 



TWENTY LESSONS 77 

Find an example of personification in one of Longfellow's 
poems other than The Courtship. 

Questions 

1. Was a "sailless ocean" a novel sight to John Alden? 

Why? 

2. Priscilla sitting alone, spinning and singing contentedly 

in the "solitude of the forest," confirms our belief 
that true happiness comes from within. Name some 
material possessions that Priscilla lacked. Describe 
Priscilla as she is introduced to us in the poem. 

3. Draw a rough model of a spinning-wheel, and indicate: 

distaff, treadle, spindle. Why is wool carded before 
it is spun into thread? 

4. Describe the costume of a Puritan woman. 

5. Show from the lines to be memorized that Priscilla 

did not always "stop to pray." 

6. Who wrote the hundredth Psalm? 

7. Did Priscilla often sing the Psalms? Give a reason 

for your answer. 

8. Why was Priscilla's clothing beautiful? 

9. What constituted the chief beauty and wealth of Pris- 

cilla's home? 
10. Write a short paragraph describing John Alden's walk 
from his own home to the home of Priscilla, when he 
went on the errand for Miles Standish (tranquil 
woods — bluebirds and robins — conflict within him 

— feeling of punishment — the ford — the Mayflowers 

— the ocean — the end of the walk — the voice of 
Priscilla). 

Memorize Lines 227-238 

Then, as he opened the door, 



of her being. 



78 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

LESSON 8 

Lines 239-279 

Comments 
Who is the author of the following lines? 

For of all sad words of tongue or pen, 

The saddest are these: " It might have been." 

In what poem are these lines found? 

The "golden moment" was the moment that was rich 
with opportunity. 

Artists have pictured in various ways the scene of John 
Alden's visit to Priscilla, with the message from Miles 
Standish. All show the homelike kitchen with its deep 
fireplace and plain furniture. 

To be Defined 

linnet gossip ivy 

To be Explained 

Though it pass o'er the graves of the dead and the hearths 



of the living, 



To be Scanned 



Stamping the snow from his feet as he entered the house, 

and Priscilla 
Laughed at his snowy locks, and gave him a seat by the 

fireside, 
Grateful and pleased to know he had thought of her in the 

snow-storm. 

Figures of Speech 
Find the figures of speech between lines 238 and 249. 



TWENTY LESSONS 79 

Find an example of personification in one of Longfellow's 
poems other than The Courtship. 

Questions 

1. Draw a fireplace with a crane and kettle such as were 

used in colonial days. 

2. What place in his life did John Alden feel that Priscilla 

held? What would life be without her? 

3. Interpret: 

"Let not him that putteth his hand to the plough look 
backwards." 

4. What are the "flowers of life"? 

5. How did the flowers given to Priscilla by John Alden 

answer her greeting? 

6. What were the chances that Priscilla would have given 

John Alden a favorable answer, if he had spoken 
"that day in the winter"? 

7. Is there any reason for thinking that Priscilla was 

homesick? Do you think that the return of the 
May^ower caused any of Priscilla's loneliness and 
longing? Why? 

8. Can you think of three reasons why Priscilla wished to 

remain in the colony? 

9. Describe the village of Plymouth in the depths of winter 

(frozen water — snow-clad trees — low houses almost 
buried in snow — lack of paths — dreary ocean). 
10. Write a paragraph describing an English village in the 
springtime. 

Memorize Lines 268-277 
" I have been thinking all day 



Old England." 



80 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 
LESSON 9 

Lines 280-334 

Comments 

Coat of arms, crest, argent, gules, and blazon are terms of 
heraldry. 

"There are at this time in England two ancient families 
of the name, one of Standish Hall, and the other of Duxbury 
Park, both in Lancashire, who trace their descent from a 
common ancestor, Ralph de Standish, living in 1221, There 
seems always to have been a military spirit in the family." 
— Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims. 

Near Plymouth is the town of Duxbury, founded and 
named by Miles Standish. 

Alexander was a name common in the Standish family. 
Miles Standish gave this name to his eldest son. 

"A rare example and worthy to be remembered were Mr. 
William Brewster, their reverent elder, and Myles Standish, 
their captain and military commander, unto whom myself, 
and many others were much beholden in our low and sick 
condition; and yet the Lord so upheld these persons, as in 
this general calamity they were not at all infected either 
with sickness or lameness." — Governor Bradford. 

We read also that these men "fetched them wood, made 
them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their 
loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them." 





To be Defined 




noble 

attended 

hasty 


headstrong 

placable 

scorned 


magnanimous 

courtly 

courageous 


To be Explained 

embellish the theme 


ominous silence 




X _ 



X 


^. 










c 


; 








c 


w 


LU 


w 




;X 


> 



C - 



TWENTY LESSONS 81 

To be Scanned 

Then John Alden began explaining and smoothing the 

matter, 
Making it worse as he went, by saying the Captain was 

busy, — 

Figures of Speech 

If you find a simile between lines 279 and 335, write it. 
Find an example of apostrophe in one of Longfellow's 
poems other than The Courtship. 

Questions 

1. Do you think Priscilla had a stout heart? Do you 

think she had a strong constitution? What reason 
have you for thinking as you do? 

2. What mistake did John Alden make in giving his message 

to Priscilla? 

3. What caused Priscilla's amazement and sorrow? 

4. Why did she feel John Alden's words like a blow? 

5. Prove that Priscilla set a high value on her affection. 

6. According to Priscilla, what was the chief fault in the 

method of wooing used by Miles Standish? 

7. Why was Priscilla indignant and hurt at the proposal 

of Miles Standish? How might he have won her? 

8. On seeing the result of his blunt proposal, how did John 

Alden prove his loyalty to Miles Standish? 

9. What reasons had John Alden for his loyalty to Miles 

Standish? 
10. Sketch the character of Miles Standish. 

Memorize Lines 325-334 
He was a man of honor 



wife of Miles Standish. 



32 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 
LESSON 10 

Lines 335-423 

Comments 
In his poem Elizabeth, Longfellow tells the story of a 
Quaker maid who is very like Priscilla in her frankness. 

Note the beautiful description of sunset at the beginning 
of Part IV. 

"Her whom I may not love, and him whom my heart has 
offended." 

Note in this line the refinement of conscientious reasoning. 

Do you envy John Alden his feelings at the following 
words of Miles Standish? 

"Come, sit down, and in order relate to me all that has 
happened." 

Wat Tyler was a traitor to his king. One of the ancestors 
of Miles Standish (John Standish) had been knighted for 
slaying Wat Tyler. 



To be Defined 




supplanted traitor cherished 
defrauded treason intrusted 


henceforward 
implacable 


To be Explained 




apocalyptical splendors riding at anchor 
mutable sands of the seashore 


To be Scanned 





Archly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes overrunning with 
laughter, 

Said, in a tremulous voice, "Why don't you speak for your- 
self, John?" 



TWENTY LESSONS 83 

Figures of Speech 
See how many similes you can find in lines 335 to 423. 
Now look for metaphors. 

Find a fine example of apostrophe and personification 
combined. How many lines does it include? 

Questions 

1. Had John Alden felt sure of Priscilla's love before she 

spoke? Give a reason for your answer. 

2. Do you think John Alden performed the captain's com- 

mission honorably? Was it his fault that the captain 
failed? 

3. Why was John Alden perplexed and bewildered? 

4. Explain : 

Love triumphant and crowned, and friendship wounded 
and bleeding, 

5. The mental conflict through which John Alden passed 

on the seashore is one of the crises of the poem. 
What caused this second conflict? What was the 
result of the conflict? 

6. Why did John Alden stop and listen and, after staring 

at the vessel, go hurriedly on? 

7. What was the secret that John Alden proposed taking 

with him to his grave? 

8. What proof have we that Miles Standish was not worried 

as to the answer to his message? 

9. What was the punishment traitors received? 

10. Why was Miles Standish so angry with John Alden? 
Explain how appearances were against John Alden. 
Was the suspicion of Miles Standish correct? 

Memorize Lines 413-423 
Wildly he shouted 



hatred " 



84 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 



LESSON 11 

Lines 424-505 

Comments 
When Miles Standish and some of the men went ashore 
to locate a good place for the Pilgrims to settle, they found 
ten bushels of corn that had been buried b}'' the Indians. 
Later, the colonists paid the Indians for the corn. 

When he went to quell the insurrection of the Indians, 
Miles Standish took with him only one-half his army. This 
army consisted of sixteen splendidly trained men. 

The colonists lived in fear whenever Miles Standish was 
away from the settlement ; they had not made treaties with 
all the Indian tribes, and unfriendly Indians were more 
likely to attack them during the absence of "the little white 
captain." 

To be Defined 

intent fair tender 

manifold menaced consecrated 

To be Explained 

Without further question or parley Fired along the line 

To be Scanned 
Over them gleamed far off the crimson banners of morning; 

Figures of Speech 

In lines 441 and 442, what figure of speech? 
Explain the figure of speech in lines 494 and 495. 



TWENTY LESSONS 89 

2. In what state v/as the mind of John Alden when he 

decided to return to England? 

3. What was being enforced on the careful remembrance 

of the captain? Do you think he made a success of 
his commission? Give a reason for your answer. 

4. Do you think the captain was much interested in the 

affairs of the Pilgrims? What makes you think as 
you do? 

5. On what day in their history did the Pilgrims show the 

greatest courage? 

6. What feeling had the Pilgrims come to have for the 

Mayflower? 

7. Why did they watch the receding sail in silence? Did 

the elder read their thoughts? Give the reason for 
your answer. 

8. For what did they "thank the Lord " ? 

9. Why was the Indian on the hill? 

10. In imagination, stand on the beach with the Pilgrims, 
and describe the departure of the vessel. Use the 
first person. 

Memorize Lines 623-626 
So they returned 



over the waters. 



LESSON 14 

Lines 627-675 

Comments 

Note how often in the poem appositives are used in con- 
nection with John Alden; for instance, "the scholar," "the 
friend of Miles Standish." 

Line 643 shows that a friend often sees virtues where 
others see defects. 



90 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

To be Defined 
prize misgiving straightway ethereal 



To be Explained 

the matter I had in my keeping 
secret misgiving ethereal level 

To be Scanned 

"You wUl forgive me, I hope, for the sake of the friendship 

between us, 
Which is too true and too sacred to be so easUy broken!" 



Figures of Speech 
What is compared to water spilt on the ground? 
What is compared to a spellbound ghost? 
To what is the untold life of suffering women compared? 
What simile does John Alden use to give his idea of a 
woman's life? 

Questions 

1. What did Priscilla think was John Alden's reason for 

being offended with her? 

2. How had Priscilla failed in decorum? What caused 

her to fail? 

3. Why could not Priscilla take back what she had said? 

What simile shows the impossibility of so doing? 

4. Tell in your own words, briefly, and without figures, 

Priscilla's belief regarding a woman's fate in life. 

5. How did John Alden show his lack of comprehension of 

the ''inner life" of women? 

6. In lauding women, do you think John Alden intended 

to flatter them? 

7. In what did Priscilla's common sense and lack of sus- 

ceptibility to flattery show itself? 



TWENTY LESSONS 91 

8. What trait in Priscilla's character helped her divine 

John Alden's apparent disloyalty to himself? 

9. How did Priscilla feel herself benefited by the friend- 

ship of John Alden? 
10. Point out some of the many beautiful traits in Priscilla's 
character that are shown in this chapter. 

Memorize Lines 667-675 

" Ah, by these words 



ethereal level." 



LESSON 15 

Lines 676-744 

Comments 

Miles Standish never became a member of the Puritan 
church. 

Priscilla's last name is spelled in different ways: Mullincs, 
Molines, MuUins. 

It was in 1623 that Miles Standish led the expedition 
against the Indians. Longfellow has grouped into his poem 
all the interesting events between 1621 and 1623. 

Historical 
"The governor, on receiving this intelligence, which was 
confirmed by other evidences, ordered Standish to take with 
him as many men as he should judge sufficient, and, if a 
plot should be discovered, to fall on the conspirators. . . . 
Standish, with eight men, sailed to the Massachusetts, 
where the natives, suspecting his design, insulted and threat- 
ened him." — Annals of America. 



92 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

To be Defined 
henceforward 

To be Explained 

importunate zeal in the harness 

To be Scanned 

Homeward together they walked, with a strange, indefinite 

feeling, 
That all the rest had departed and left them alone in the 

desert. 

Figures of Speech 
What figure of speech is employed in the following line? 

"He is a httle chimney, and heated hot in a moment." 
Do you find any metaphors between lines 676 and 742? 

Questions 

1. Why was Priscilla offended by the seeming flattery of 

John Alden? 

2. How do "common and complimentary phrases" insult 

women? 

3. Why did Priscilla's face look so "fair," so "divine," 

while she was chiding John Alden? 

4. According to Priscilla, what chance had Miles Standish 

in his competition with John Alden? 

5. How did Priscilla's candor and good sense smooth out 

the misunderstanding between her and John Alden? 

6. For what had Priscilla seemed ungrateful? (line 709.) 

7. Quote the line in which Priscilla shows her appreciation 

of kindness. 

8. Was there any similarity between the losses that Miles 

Standish and John Alden were suffering? 



TWENTY LESSONS 85 

Questions 

1. Why was it that Miles Standish was summoned to the 

meeting and not John Alden also? 

2. Sum up the losses, both actual and imminent, that 

confronted John Alden on April 4th. 

3. Interpret: 

God had sifted three kingdoms to find the wheat for this 
planting, 

4. By what right did Miles Standish demand charge of 

the challenge of the Indians? 

5. Interpret: 

" but in the cause that is righteous, 

Sweet is the smell of powder;" 

6. Had the Pilgrims a righteous cause with regard to the 

Indians? 

7. What opinion of Indians did Miles Standish hold? 

8. Why did Miles Standish take only a part of his army 

on the expedition against the Indians? 

9. How much time elapsed between the reception of the 

challenge and the march of the army? 
10. Mention some of the domestic cares of the Pilgrims 
that modern progress has lightened. 

Memorize Lines 496-505 
Many a mile 



of the household. 



LESSON 12 

Lines 506-572 

Comments 
The climax, or turning-point, of the poem is the deter- 
mination of John Alden to remain in the colony. AU Pris- 



86 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDlSH 

cilia's soul is revealed in her face as she sees John Alden 
place his foot on the side of the boat. It is this look that 
withholds him from taking the fatal step. 

The captain of a merchant vessel was called the Master. 





To be Defined 




divined 


recoiled 


instincts 


revulsion 


verge 


adamantine 



To be Explained 

that swifter than keel is or canvas 
divined his intention recoiled from its purpose 

To be Scanned 

Down to the Plymouth Rock, that had been to their feet 

as a doorstep 
Into a world unknown, — the corner-stone of a nation! 

Figures of Speech 

Do you find any example of personification in lines 506 to 

572? 
What figures in the lines for scansion? 

Questions 

1. How did the Pilgrims begin the day? 

2. What warning was contained in the "signal-gun of 

departure " ? 

3. For what were the Pilgrims entreating the Lord so 

fervently? 

4. Why did Miles Standish decide not to renew the discus- 

sion with John Alden? Do you think it would have 
been well to renew it? 



TWENTY LESSONS 87 

5. Interpret: 

Thinking to drown in the sea the ghost that would rise 
and pursue him. 

6. Why was Priscilla unconscious of all that was passing 

at such an important moment? Do you think she 
"divined his [John Alden's] intention"? 

7. What made John Alden change his mind about return- 

ing in the Mayflower? 

8. How would the nature of the poem have been changed, 

had not John Alden reversed his decision? 

9. The happiness of how many lives would have been 

destroyed, had John Alden failed to see things aright? 
10. Write a paragraph describing the Mayflower as she stood 
ready to depart. 

Memorize Lines 564-569 
But as he gazed 



destruction. 



LESSON 13 

Lines 573-626 

Historical 

"So after we had given God thanks for our deliverance, 
we took our shallop and went on our journey, and called this 
place The First Encounter." — Young's Chronicles, page 159. 

This is the Eastham shore, where the Pilgrims and the 
Indians first encountered. The Mayflower was still anchored 
in Provincetown Harbor, and Miles Standish and some of 
the men had gone ashore to search for a place to start the 
settlement. 



88 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Comments 

The return of the Mayflower severed the last tie that 
bound the Pilgrims to their old country, home, and friends. 

There is a familiar picture, " The Return of the Mayflower," 
which is popular in America. 

Sometimes the whole future of a nation, a business, an 
enterprise, or a person, rests on the decision of a moment. 

Priscilla had no natural protectors; this made John Alden 
feel that she needed him. 

To be Defined 

musing visibly 

To be Explained 

the yards were braced 
rounded the point of Gurnet 
took the wind on her quarter 
stood for the open Atlantic 
borne on the send of the sea 
wash of the billows 

To be Scanned 

strong hearts and true! not one went back in the May- 
flower! 

Figures of Speech 
Find an example of apostrophe and personification com- 
bined in lines 573 to 626. 
Do you see a metaphor? 

Questions 
1. Are all the crises in life met after grave thought? Do 
you know of any important events that needed quick 
intuition for their happy settlement? Are grave 
questions generally dealt with rapidly? 



TWENTY LESSONS 97 



LESSON 18 

Lines 926-966 

Comments 

The marriage of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins took 
place in 1623. 

Shakespeare refers to thin vapor, or flying clouds, as 
rack. 

Notice how fully and heartily Miles Standish acknowledged 
his fault when he found he had been in the wrong. 

The friendship did "grow older and dearer," Miles 
Standish married a lady named Barbara, whose last name is 
unknown. They had seven children. Their eldest son, 
Alexander, married Sarah, one of the daughters of John and 
Priscilla Alden. 

To be Defined 

troth benediction sensitive thereupon 

To be Scanned 

Softly the youth and the maiden repeated the words of 
betrothal, 

Figures of Speech 

What is compared to the sun shining through the thin 
flying clouds? 

See if there is any other figure of speech between lines 
926 and 967, 

Questions 

1. Does the wedding day in the poem correspond with the 

historical date? 

2, Why were the Puritans married by a magistrate as well 

as by an Elder? 



98 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

3. What was the "fleeting intention" that was mastered 

by the "iron will"? 

4. How had Miles Standish been "cruel and hard"? 

5. Do you think that, before appearing at the wedding, 

Miles Standish had forgiven John Alden? 

6. To what did Miles Standish attribute his quick temper? 

7. As you compare their feelings and actions throughout 

the poem, which of the two friends showed a more 
generous disposition? Cite several instances. 

8. Was John Alden sensitive? Do you find any instance 

of his having conquered an angry retort when his 
feelings were hurt? 

9. Had Miles Standish an affectionate disposition? Find, 

in different parts of the poem, lines that prove your 
answer. 
10. Why would you call the reconciliation a perfect one? 

Memorize Lines 95&-966 

But when were ended 



older and dearer! " 



LESSON 19 

Lines 967-1018 

Comment 
Kent is a county in the southern part of England. 

Historical 

Miles Standish left a will in which he provided with the 
most tender care for his "dearly beloved wife, Barbara." 
To his eldest son, Alexander, he left the English possessions 
that he felt were rightfully his. 



TWENTY LESSONS 99 

"Barbara" was married to Miles Staadish shortly after 
her arrival in the Anne in 1623. 

There are many descendants of both the Standish and the 
Alden famihes. 

To be Defined 

transfigured Garden of Eden 

To be Explained 

lauding her husband 
Tremulous, floating in air, o'er the depths of the azure 
abysses. 

To be Scanned 

Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the ford in 
the forest, 

Figures of Speech 
How many metaphors do you find between line 970 and 
the end of the poem? 

Questions 

1. Who offered the first congratulations to the bride? 

2. Apply to the poem the adage: "No man can gather 

cherries in Kent at the season of Christmas!" 

3. Was Miles Standish a favorite in the colony? How 

do you know? 

4. Why was he questioned? Who did the answering? 

Why was there so much interrupting? 

5. Was the captain in earnest when he stated his preference 

for an attack on the Indians to an unexpected arrival 
at a wedding? 

6. What transfigured "the land of toil and privation" 

into a "Garden of Eden"? 

7. Did the guests devote the whole wedding day to merry- 

making? 



100 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

8. Where was the "new habitation"? Who built it? 

9. Decribe the picture reflected in the brook. 
10. Interpret: "Love immortal and young." 

Memorize Lines 982-989 

Meanwhile the bridegroom went forth 



sound of the ocean. 



LESSON 20 

Historical 

Miles Standish died on October 3, 1656. At Duxbury, a 
monument has been erected to his memory. The tall shaft, 
surmounted by a bronze statue of the captain, rises from 
Captain's Hill. 

John Alden died on September 12, 1687, in his eighty- 
ninth year. He was the last survivor of the signers of the 
Compact. He had been magistrate for more than fifty years. 

Comments 

Priscilla is a type of splendid womanhood, as John Alden 
is of noble manhood. 

Longfellow's mother, Zilpah Wadsworth, was a descendant 
of the Aldens. 

Longfellow had at first intended to name the poem Pris- 
cilla. 

The contentment, the earnestness, the happy home life 
of the little colony, show us that the best things in life are 
beyond the power of money to buy. 

To be Scanned 
Scan one line taken from the poem at random. 



TWENTY LESSONS 93 

9. How did Miles Standish think that his proposal had 

been treated by Priscilla? 
10. What was the weed that he mistook for a flower? 

Memorize Lines 735-741 

" I alone 

of dangers!" 



LESSON 16 

Lines 745-846 

Comments 

When preparing for war, the Indians painted their bodies 
with stripes of bright colors. 

A sachem is a principal chief. A sagamore is a chief of 
lesser rank. 

Pecksuot and Wattawamat were leaders among the Indians 
called the Massachusetts: 

Some fine specimens of work in wampum may be seen in 
the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Wam- 
pum is made by polishing pieces of shell. It is used as 
money by the Indians, and also for ornamenting their cloth- 
ing. 

Size, strength, and bravery were the possessions most 
admired by the Indians. 

The Pilgrims made a treaty of peace with the Indian chief, 
Massasoit, which remained unbroken for fifty years. 

The lattice was not put on windows solely as an ornament ; 
it protected the paper. In the time of the Pilgrims, glass 
windows were a luxury even to the nobility. 



94 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

To be Defined 

habitation rough-hewn latticed 

To be Explained 

breaking the glebe scom-uig the land 

came to parley with Standish 

To be Scanned 

There on the flowers of the meadow the warriors lay, and 

above them, 
Silent, with folded arms, stood Hobomok, friend of the 

white man. 

Figure of Speech 

To what is the flight of arrows compared? Find each 
point of similarity. 

Questions 

1. Why was the hatred towards the white people in the 

hearts of the chiefs? 

2. Why did the chiefs carry no weapons but knives? 

3. Did the taunt: "Go and work with the women!" mean 

more with the Indians than with the white people? 

4. When the Indians dared to insult Miles Standish, what 

can we infer would have been their next move? 

5. Explain exactly how the ambush was carried out. Did 

Miles Standish see the danger? 

6. What was the belief of the Indians with regard to a 

musket (fire-stick)? 

7. Why was the head of Wattawamat placed on the church? 

Why did the people rejoice? 

8. In what way would a noble-minded person, after losing 

his temper, act differently from one of mean dis- 
position? Did Miles Standish ever repent his pas- 
sionate outbreak? 



TWENTY LESSONS 95 

9. Name some of the ways in which the colonists made a 

living. 
10. Describe John Alden's home. 

Memorize Lines 839-846 

Meanwhile Alden at home 

and the orchard. 



LESSON 17 

Lines 847-925 

Comments 
Helvetia is the old name for Switzerland. 
The Indians often dipped the point of the arrow into 
poison, so that death would result from even a slight wound. 

To be Defined 

twain trysting-place asunder 

devious swerving barriers 

To be Explained 

cut off with the whole of his forces 

To be Scanned 

Straight uprose from her wheel the beautiful Puritan maiden, 
Pleased with the praise of her thrift from him whose praise 
was the sweetest, 



Figure of Speech 
What figure of speech is the whole passage to be mem- 
rized? 



96 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Do you find any other figures of speech between lines 847 
and 925? 

Questions 

1. How did each man in the colony come by his share of 

cattle? 

2. Did John Alden think Priscilla a good housekeeper? 

Read aloud the various lines in the lesson that prove 
your answer. 

3. When John Alden opened the subject of the beautiful 

spinner, do you think Priscilla feared he would relapse 
into his former transgression? 

4. What would mothers reprove in their children? (line 

883.) 

5. Why was it that Priscilla did not object to Alden's 

praise of her thrift, when before, she had objected so 
strongly to his seeming flattery? 

6. Why is the hum of the spinning-wheel spoken of as 

music? Of what use is the distaff in spinning? Draw 
or describe a reel, and tell its use. 

7. Was John Alden a tactful young man? 

8. What sensation predominated in the mixed feelings 

with which John Alden received the news of the death 
of Miles Standish? Why did he clasp Priscilla 
"almost with a groan" ? 

9. What effect had the report on Priscilla? 

10. Do you think Longfellow selected an opportune moment 
in the story to report the death of Miles Standish? 
What is emphasized by this selection of time? 

Memorize Lines 918-925 
Even as rivulets twain 



the other. 



TWENTY LESSONS 101 

Figures of Speech 

Write the simile that you think the most beautiful in the 
poem. 

Give an example of metaphor. 

How many examples do you find of apostrophe and per- 
sonification combined? 

Questions 

1. Is The Courtship a pathetic or a humorous poem? 

2. In what has Longfellow deviated from history in writing 

the poem? 

3. Give the qualifications of each of the rival lovers. 

4. After John Alden was sure that Priscilla loved him, why 

did he not marry her? 

5. See how many word pictures you can find in the poem. 

6. Which part (chapter) of the poem do you like best? 

Why? 

7. Look for the crises in the poem — either in a person's 

life or in events. 

8. Sketch the character of John Alden. 

9. In imagination, spend the day with either John Alden 

or Priscilla Mullins, and join in the work. Tell how 
the day was passed. 
10. Why will the name of Miles Standish live in history? 

To be Memorized 
Choose from six to twelve lines that you like, and mem- 
orize them. 



REFERENCE BOOKS 

Chronicles of the Pilgrims Young 

Chronological Eistory of New England Prince 

New England's Memorial Morton 

Annals of America Holmes 

General History of Virgi7iia Captain John Smith 

New England Plantation Higginson 

Massachusetts Historical Collections. 



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